Aerogel-based oil sorbents derived from pomelo (Citrus grandis L.) peel powder as a fat replacer: effect on physicochemical properties, fatty acid composition and volatile profile of salami.

Fat reduction in salami remains challenging because animal fat contributes substantially to texture and volatile development. This study extends pomelo peel-derived aerogel-based oil sorbents (ABOS) to fermented salami and evaluates their performance during 18 days of fermentation. ABOS reduced fat by 37.5-40.9% and energy by 23.7-25.4% (p < 0.05), while maintaining protein and ash contents (p > 0.05). Fat-reduced salami showed 27.1-32.8% higher final moisture and 23.3-37.7% lower weight loss than the control (p < 0.05), with final pH of 4.64-4.75 and aw of 0.83-0.85. Formulations containing 125 μm ABOS retained hardness and chewiness comparable to the control (p > 0.05), while exhibiting a more favourable PUFA/SFA ratio, lower atherogenicity index, and broadly comparable volatile profiles with reduced aldehyde formation. These findings demonstrate the technological feasibility of ABOS and support sustainable upcycling of pomelo peel into a functional fat replacer for fermented meat products.