The novel salt-containing high internal phase emulsions stabilized by complex coacervation of ovalbumin and chitosan: Application for enhancing saltiness and flavor of low-salt meat sausages.

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of varying concentrations of potassium chloride (KCl) on the complex coacervation between ovalbumin (OVA) and chitosan (CS), and the properties of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) that were stabilized by the complex coacervate. Additionally, HIPEs were applied to sausages to achieve reductions in salt and fat content without compromising quality. By investigating the aggregation behavior of OVA-CS and the structural and intrinsic properties of HIPEs stabilized by them, including the simulation of HIPEs mastication kinetics, it was revealed that KCl concentrations of 20 mM and 50 mM not only facilitated the complex aggregation of OVA-CS but also exhibited favorable HIPEs performance. Subsequently, applying it to meat sausages, utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), it was observed that novel salt-containing HIPEs application successfully facilitated a non-uniform distribution of salt ions while enhancing their retention. Ultimately, the assessment of the electronic tongue, texture profile analysis, and other parameters demonstrated that the total salt content of the sausages was effectively reduced by 9 %. This paper presented a novel approach for preparing and applying HIPEs, along with an innovative method for producing low-salt sausages within the food processing industry.