Smoked-breaded restructured products from minced Cayman yacare meat, Brazilian Pantanal

Residues from Cayman farming processing are usually designated to animal feed. Due to its high nutritional value, the use of those residues as restructured products in human alimentation can beneficial as another source of revenue to alliagator farmers. In this study was evaluated composition and acceptance of a smoked-breaded restructured product (nuggets) elaborated with minced Cayman yacare meat. The product was submitted to two smoking processes to further enhance palatability (liquid and powder smoke). The products are composed in 61.30% moisture, 18.27% crude protein, 10.32% total lipids, 2.54% mineral matter and 7.85% carbohydrates, with no difference between the treatments. Colorimetry showed an average red intensity (a*) 17.85, and a yellow intensity (b*) 23.75, with an average luminosity (L*) 51.94 between the two smoking methods. Score for sensory parameters were all above 7 on a hedonic scale 1 to 9, and for purchase intent, the score was 4, whose scale used was 5 points. With these results, the analysed product is considered to have high market potential. In conclusion, the product developed was well accepted and with high nutritional value that can used as an alternative to meat generated in Cayman yacare deboning process.