Determination of optimum level of omega 3 fish oil plus vitamin E and their effects on oxidative and sensory shelf stability in a traditional Persian ice cream formulation using a computer-aided statistical programme

Fishery products are the richest dietary sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids ω-3.  These functional ingredients can be applied for fortification of food products. A computer-assisted programme was applied for the product development and to investigate the influence of the different ratios of ω-3 fish oil on overall acceptance and stability of the ice cream.  Consequently, ice cream with 2.5% fish oil was selected as an optimum prototype. Sensory changes and the oxidative stability (FFA, peroxide, anisidine, and TOTOX values) of the control and fortified samples were investigated during 4 months storage at -18°C. The same level of moisture (73-74%), and protein (3.0-3.2%) contents, acidity (0.08-0.09), solid-non-fat (2.60-2.70%) and pH (6.7-6.8) was found in fortified ice cream and the control samples. The fat content of the fortified sample (3.3%) was higher than what found in the control (2.1%). Both prototypes were chemically stable and had similar sensory attributes after the production and after 4 months of storage. FFA (0.08-0.15%), peroxides (0.21-0.51 meq kg-1), anisidine (4.61-8.12) and TOTOX (5.14-8.75) values of the control and fortifies samples were within the acceptable levels indicating the stability of the prototypes during frozen storage. According to the results, it could be concluded that nutritional values of ice cream can be enhanced by the fortification with ω-3 fish oil. However, to commercialize such product consumers' acceptance and market research should be investigated.