Partial Substitution of Pork Fat with Beeswax Oleogels for Improving the Nutritional Value of Dry Fermented Sausages

Dry fermented sausages (DFS) include pork fat with high saturated fatty acids (SFAs) content. For developing new DFS with lower SFAs and higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) levels, our study aimed to investigate the suitability of beeswax (BW) oleogels based on pumpkin seed oil (PO) and rapeseed oil (RO) as animal fat replacers. To prepare the oleogels, a PO and PO:RO 3:1 mixture was gelled with 10% BW. Different DFS were developed: C (control); P-30, PR-30, P-60, and PR-60, with 30% or 60% of the pork fat replaced by oleogels. The results showed that fat substitution did not affect the fermentation process, as evidenced by the final pH values, not significantly different from C. The texture profile revealed better cohesiveness in all reformulated samples, while the hardness of P-30 and PR-30 samples was closer to that of C. Although the oxidation levels of all DFS samples were higher and significantly different compared to C, they still remained below the rancidity limit. Samples recorded lower hedonic scores than C, but above the acceptability limit. We concluded that P-30 and PR-30 were the most promising DFS reformulations due to their proper texture, sensory acceptability, and improved nutritional value evidenced by higher PUFAs level.