Quality characteristics and fatty acid profile of Siahmezgi cheese fortified by encapsulated fish oil

There is a growing body of evidence which long chain omega-3 fatty acids from seafood (Particularly EPA and DHA), are not only beneficial for general health and well-being, but also play a role in preventing of many important diseases. For these reasons, many health associations recommend to eat seafood at least twice weekly. Omega-3 fatty acid fortification is one of the fastest growing trends in the food industry. Dairy products are particularly suitable for enrichment with long chain n-3 PUFAs, in terms of popularity with consumers and special storage condition. So, this research was carried out to investigate the nutritional value and the fatty acid profile of Siahmezgi cheese fortified with encapsulated fish oil. 

For this purpose, at first, the microencapsulation process of fish oil with whey protein was performed at a ratio of 1:2 and the encapsulated oil was added in the process of producing Siahmezgi cheese. The treatments were as: control, treatment 1 (contained % 0.5 encapsulated fish oil) and treatment 2 (contained % 1.0 encapsulated fish oil). In this study, the determination of cheese fatty acid profile and sensory evaluation was performed at day 60 after cheese production and examination of peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid was performed at day 0, 30 and 60. Proximate analysis was calculated after cheese production, immediately.  

A total of 22 types of fatty acids were identified in Siahmezgi cheese samples. The ratio of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids in treatments 1 and 2 were 0.78 and 0.83, respectively. The content of EPA and DHA in treatment 1 (0.09, 0.16 %) and treatment 2 (0.16, 0.47 %) were significantly more than control treatment (0.06 and 0.04 %) (p<0.05). The content of thiobarbituric acid in all samples was much lower than the allowed level. Sensory evaluation of control and enriched treatments of Siahmezgi cheese showed that all cheeses were generally acceptable by the judges.