Tenebrio molitor flour as a partial fish replacer and its effect on the quality of hake sausages

Abstract The effect of replacing hake with Tenebrio molitor on the physicochemical, nutritional and sensory characteristics of fish sausages was investigated in this study. Two types of samples were prepared, a control hake sausage (HFC, 49.3% hake) and a modified version in which hake was partially replaced by Tenebrio molitor insect flour (HFT, 44.37% hake + 4.93% insect flour). The colour, nutritional profile (including fatty acid profile), instrumental texture (TPA, texture profile analysis) and sensory analyses (QDA, quantitative descriptive analysis) were performed. The results showed that the sample including insect flour was darker, more yellowish and more reddish than the control sample. The replacement of 10% of the hake resulted in a reduction of fat and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) content and an increase in protein and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) content. The instrumental texture did not show significant differences between samples. The results of the sensory analysis indicated that there were significant differences ( ) between all the parameters, with the exception of non-typical odour and pastiness. The results obtained indicate that Tenebrio molitor flour for partial fish (hake) substitution could be used as a sustainable strategy to promote the consumption of processed fish products, such as sausages, by improving their nutritional profile.