BURITI PULP AS A NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT IN BEEF BURGERS: EFFECT ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES DURING FROZEN STORAGE

The search for new ingredients with functional properties, a healthier appeal, and that can be used in meat products to replace synthetic additives has stimulated research. Antioxidants are additives added to meat products as they aid in oxidative stability and also in color stability. Buriti is a fruit rich in phenolic compounds and carotenoids, standing out as a promising natural source of antioxidants. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of adding freeze-dried buriti pulp as a natural antioxidant in beef burgers stored under frozen conditions. Five treatments were developed: control (CON) without the addition of antioxidants, ERI with the addition of 0.05% of synthetic antioxidant - sodium erythorbate, and three treatments with freeze-dried buriti pulp at concentrations of 500 mg/kg (BUR1), 750 mg/kg (BUR2), and 1 g/kg (BUR3). The burgers were prepared with beef chuck, pork backfat, water, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. After preparation, moisture, protein, lipids, ash, and lipid oxidation were determined for all burger treatments in the raw products on days 30, 60, and 90 of frozen storage. The proximate composition showed no significant difference among treatments, demonstrating that the use of buriti pulp did not affect the composition of the beef burgers. The averages of lipid oxidation during the storage of the frozen beef burgers showed a significant difference, with the highest average at 90 days. Regarding the treatments, there was also a significant difference, where CON presented the highest oxidation average (0.730 MDA/kg of sample) and the remaining treatments with antioxidant application were similar to each other: ERI, BUR1, BUR2, and BUR3 (0.461, 0.567, 0.515, and 0.504 MDA/kg of sample, respectively), showing that even at the lowest concentration, the freeze-dried buriti pulp proved to be efficient. These results showed the expected oxidation throughout the product storage and highlight the ability of natural antioxidants to minimize lipid oxidation, presenting themselves as a viable option for replacing synthetic antioxidants.