Quality characteristics of mackerel tuna (Euthynnus affinis) burger formulated with tapioca flour and Kappaphycopsis cottonii powder as binding agents

The texture’s consistency of fish burger products has become the main concern in seafood manufacture to satisfy consumer’s expectations. In this present work, tapioca flour at concentration of 4% and 6% (w/w) and Kappaphycopsis cottonii powder at level of 0%, 2%, and 4% (w/w) were substituted to fish burger formulation, containing 2%(w/w) of vegetable oils, 5%(w/w) of garlic, 1%(w/w) of salt, 10%(w/w) of onions, 0.5%(w/w) of pepper, 0.5%(w/w) of nutmeg, and 14%(w/w) of breadcrumbs; and investigated for their effect on the characteristics of the fish burger. These include proximate values, textural properties, colour, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and sensory evaluation of the burger product. The higher concentration of tapioca flour and K. cottonii powder significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the moisture from 66.1 ± 1.04 to 64.09 ± 0.69%, protein content from 18.65 ± 0.27 to 17.21 ± 0.40%, brightness from 53.73 ± 0.49 to 50.45 ± 1.97 and yellowness from 16.63 ± 0.48 to 15.01 ± 0.26 of mackerel tuna burger, but increased its carbohydrate content from 10.79 ± 0.37 to 13.69 ± 0.49%, hardness from 26.24 ± 1.06 to 33.44 ± 0.35 N and chewiness from 19.21 ± 1.57 to 26.46 ± 2.32 N.mm. The addition of K. cottonii powder at concentration of more than 2% yielded the burger with a harder texture, which was less preferred by panellists. Fish burger added with 4% of tapioca flour and 2% of K. cottonii powder produced the highest characteristics between treatments. The study outcomes are expected to contribute to food industry’s production of high-quality burgers to meet consumer’s demand.