The development and nutritional characteristics of an omega-3-enhanced egg product

Novel, nutritionally-enhanced egg product was developed by substituting saturated fat and cholesterol-containing yolk with omega-3 fatty acids-rich (o-3 FA) flaxseed, menhaden, algae, and krill oils. The o-3 FA-fortified eggs are typically developed through alteration of hen feed. However, the present study aimed at creating such a product via processing. Experimental batters were developed to match composition, color, and texture of hen eggs (whole egg). The batters, whole egg, and liquid egg product (egg beaters) were cooked, analyzed, and compared. Moisture, protein, and fat content of experimental eggs matched (P\u3e0.05) whole egg. Nutritionally, amino acid profile (AAP) analysis showed no significant differences in the ratio of essential amino acids to total amino acids (EAA/AA) when experimental eggs were compared to whole egg and egg beaters. Mineral profile (MP) analysis revealed that whole egg contained higher levels of Ca, P, and Fe than the experimental eggs, but Mg values were higher in experimental eggs (than whole egg) and comparable to egg beaters. Cholesterol content of the experimental eggs was significantly lower than that of whole egg (P\u3c0.05). Fatty acid profile (FAP) analysis showed significantly higher percentages of n-3 PUFAs in the experimental eggs as compared to whole egg and a much lower n-6/n-3 ratio in the experimental eggs than in whole egg (P\u3c0.05). TBARS analysis showed that the rate of lipid oxidation of the experimental eggs (excluding krill eggs) was statistically less than or equal to that of whole egg, with the exception of krill eggs, despite the presence of omega-3 PUFAs. Color was analyzed using L*a*b* tristimulus color values, where L* represents the lightness, a* represents greenness or redness and b* represents blueness or yellowness of a sample. The L* for experimental eggs was generally similar to whole egg except when krill oil was added. Experimental eggs had higher (P\u3c0.05) a* and b* than whole egg and egg beaters, indicating more redness and yellowness, respectively. Texture profile analysis (TPA) values (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience) revealed that experimental eggs had similar (P\u3e0.05) and greater (P\u3c0.05) textural properties when compared to whole egg and egg beaters, respectively. Fundamental torsion test confirmed that experimental eggs and whole egg had generally similar texture, but were firmer (P0.05) slightly firmer texture for experimental eggs than egg beaters