INFORM June 2026

34 INFORM JUNE 2026 , VOL. 37, NO. 6

the use of four different oils during the extrusion of plant based meat analogs. THE EFFECT OF COLD TEMPERATURE STORAGE CHARACTERISTICS AND TEXTURE PROFILES OF PLANT-BASED MEAT ANALOGUES Miller, O., et al., Food Chemistry International , 2, 1, 2026. Plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) have been designed to mimic traditional meat products in all aspects, includ ing sensory aspects, function ality and preparation for cook ing. Therefore, it is expected that consumers will expect PBMAs to exhibit the same indicators of food quality de cline when stored. This paper examines the lipid stability of two commercially available PBMA products, a chicken nugget mimic and a sausage mimic, when stored under their recommended storage conditions and whether qual ity indicators used for tradi tional meat products are ap plicable. The lipids in the two PBMA products were analysed using capillary and gas chro matography with flame ioni sation detectors (Iatroscan FID and GC-FID). The lipids in both products were predominantly triacylglycerols (TAGs), where as the fatty acid analyses showed that oleic acid (C18:1) was the most abundant, with 57.4 ± 2.8% for the chicken nugget and 27.7 ± 0.6% for the sausage. Lipid stability profiles, as measured using peroxide, acid, and p -anisidine values, ON LIPID STABILITY, PHYSICOCHEMICAL

as well as the thiobarbituric acid reactive substanc es (TBARS) test, showed no indicators of lipid oxidation in both PBMA products after refrigerated storage up to their best before date. Attenu ated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) analysis also supported the results of the lipid oxidation tests. However, significant changes were observed in the textural properties (including large increases in hardness), appearance (total colour change) and significantly high drip loss from both products over the storage period. These indicators may be applicable to judging a change in quality for PBMA products. LIPID STABILITY PROFILES OF UNCOOKED PLANT-BASED MEAT ANALOGUE BURGER PATTIES AND COMPARISON OF THEIR TEXTURAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES WITH TRADITIONAL BEEF BURGER PATTIES Miller, O., et al. , Journal of Food Composition and Analysis , 147, 108002, 2025. Plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) are designed to mimic meat products, and it can be expected that con sumers will use the same parameters to judge a change in the quality of PBMAs as for the meat products they mim ic. This paper examined the lipid stability of a commer cial PBMA burger patty stored under the recommended conditions identified on its packaging, and whether the quality indicators consumers use to judge meat products

are applicable. After the PBMA burger patty was stored under refrigerated conditions for 12 days (up to its best-before date), there were no indicators of lipid oxidation despite its packaging being removed, as shown by peroxide value, acid value, p-anisidine value and TBARS tests. Meanwhile, the PBMA had significant textur al, colour, and mass changes during storage, which were similar to those of a tradition al beef burger patty stored under the same conditions. These changes in physical parameters would likely cause a reduction in food quality as judged by a consumer. These visual indicators of quality, which are useful in determin ing changes in the quality of a meat patty, were transferable to judging the changes in food quality during storage for a PBMA burger patty. EFFECT OF DIFFERENT VEGETABLE OILS ON EXTRUDED PLANT-BASED MEAT ANALOGS: EVALUATION OF OXIDATIVE DEGRADATION, TEXTURAL, RHEOLOGICAL, TRIBOLOGICAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES Opaluwa, C., et al. , Food Hydrocolloids , 163, 111038, 2025. Vegetable oils are often added during high moisture extrusion of plant-based meat analogs to improve their textural and sensory quality. However, the impact of ex trusion processing on lipid degradation often receives minimal attention, despite its potential to reduce the nu tritional and sensory quality of the product. Therefore, in