Shelf-life and quality of chicken nuggets fortified with encapsulated fish oil and garlic essential oil during refrigerated storage

Fish oil (FO) is a rich source of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 LCPUFA) which are important for human health. This research investigated the fortification of chicken nuggets with encapsulated FO-Garlic essential oil (GEO) as a possible way for delivery of ω-3 LCPUFA. Five different chicken nugget samples were prepared according to different treatments: Control sample (without fish oil and encapsulated FO-GEO), bulk fish oil samples (0.4% and 0.8%, w/w), and encapsulated FO-GEO samples (4% and 8%, w/w). The quality of the chicken nugget samples were monitored during a 20-day refrigerated storage. Results showed that the addition of encapsulated FO-GEO could significantly delay lipid oxidation and microbiological spoilage of the samples during refrigerated storage. This is reflected by the pH, PV, TBARS and TVBN data (P < 0.05). Samples fortified with encapsulated FO-GEO also showed significantly higher sensory quality and overall acceptability (P < 0.05). The use of 8% encapsulated FO-GEO gave the best antioxidative and antimicrobial properties during storage. However, the best sensory scores were observed in the 4% encapsulated FO-GEO up to 20 days of storage. This study demonstrated that the encapsulated FO-GEO could be used for fortifying and extending shelf-life of food products.