Quality characteristics and identified fatty acid area profile of cooked sausages reformulated with a structured safflower oil–horse fat emulsion

Reformulating processed meat products with structured lipid systems is a promising strategy to modify lipid characteristics while preserving desirable product properties. This study evaluated a multicomponent structured fat emulsion in cooked sausage, containing safflower oil, horse internal fat, rice bran wax, chickpea flour, and water. Sensory evaluation initially screened formulations containing 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% emulsion, and the 10% formulation was selected for detailed comparison with a conventional control. The samples were evaluated for proximate composition, pH, colour, texture profile, microstructure, identified fatty acid area profile, and microbiological quality. Incorporation of 10% emulsion resulted in a total fat content of 20.0% in both formulations, while moisture increased from 66.3% to 67.2% and protein decreased from 12.0% to 10.9%. The identified saturated fatty acid fraction decreased from 39.32% to 34.06%, whereas the identified polyunsaturated fatty acid fraction increased from 2.10% to 4.65% of the total integrated chromatographic area. The experimental sausage showed a comparatively homogeneous microstructure, lower hardness, higher springiness, and favourable sensory characteristics. The total viable count was 1.0 × 10² CFU/g in both samples, while the specified pathogens were not detected. Overall, the 10% structured emulsion formulation modified the identified fatty acid area profile while showing comparable measured quality characteristics under the conditions evaluated.