Influence of emulsifier type on lipid oxidation in fish oil‐enriched light mayonnaise

Abstract The oxidative stability of fish oil‐enriched light mayonnaise (40% oil) and the influence of two different emulsifiers, egg yolk and milk protein‐based emulsifier, were evaluated. Moreover, the effects of different fish oil concentrations (4, 10 and 14%) and storage temperatures (2 and 20°C) were investigated. As expected, the results showed that lipid oxidation increased with storage temperature, and at 20°C with increasing fish oil concentrations. On the basis of the findings in this study, a storage temperature of 20°C for 4 months cannot be recommended for light mayonnaise due to significant lipid oxidation even in mayonnaises without fish oil. However, enrichment of light mayonnaises with 4% fish oil without adding antioxidant did not result in increased oxidation when stored at 2°C, and thus seems feasible; however, this has to be confirmed by sensory analysis. Surprisingly, our hypothesis that substitution of egg yolk with a less iron‐containing emulsifier (milk protein‐based emulsifier) could increase the oxidative stability of fish oil‐enriched mayonnaises was not confirmed. These findings suggest that the initial quality of the emulsifiers was more important than its iron content in terms of lipid oxidation.