Fat Reduction in Extruded Snacks with the Use of Xanthan Gun

Abstract

Food industries are modifying their products and processes in order to adapt to the needs and desires of consumers for a healthy diet. Extruded snacks are products where 10–20% of fat is sprinkled on the product to fix flavors, seasonings and salts. Considering the need for flavoring snacks and simultaneously reducing of the calories intake, an alternative to fat, based on polysaccharides, was studied. This work aimed to evaluate the use of aqueous gum solutions to replace the oil in the flavoring of snacks, based on texture profile of the snacks and rheology features of the coatings. Texture profile was applied in compression mode to evaluate the hardness of the coated snacks. Flow behaviour of coating solutions at different pH was determined. The moisture, water activity and refraction index of the coated snacks, was also evaluated. Results for the aqueous coatings were very encouraging showing good coating properties and not damaging texture of the extrudates, comparing well with the oil based coatings for sensory evaluation.