EFFECTS OF EMULSIFYING SALTS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PROCESSED CHEESE WITHOUT ADDED FAT AND REDUCED SODIUM

Abstract

Requeijão cremoso, a type of processed cheese widely consumed by the Brazilian population, may be considered a food source of fat and sodium, two nutrients the consumption of which - when present at high concentrations - may lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Considering the high and frequent consumption of this product in Brazil, it is highly important to develop alternative and healthier food products, such as a requeijão made without the addition of fat and with a reduced sodium content (NFARSR). For that reason, the objective of this study was to develop an optimized NFARSR formulation, by replacing fat by whey protein concentrate (WPC 34%) and reducing the sodium level by replacing 40% sodium chloride (NaCl) by potassium chloride (KCl) and part of the traditional emulsifying salt (Joha S9) - which contains 30.5% sodium - by an emulsifying salt with a sodium level of 8.2% (Joha SK75). The formulation was optimized using a factorial experimental design of the 22 type with two factors (Joha S9 and Joha SK75) and two levels (+1, -1), resulting in a total of 11 treatments. The 11 formulations were evaluated microbiologically and also as to physical-chemical, sensory and instrumental texture parameters using the response surface method. The NFARSR formulation with the best performance was R5, made with a blend of 1.0% JohaS9 and 1.2% Joha SK75.