Mortadella sausage manufactured with Caiman yacare (Caiman crocodilus yacare) meat, pork backfat, and soybean oil

- The overall acceptability of Caiman yacare mortadella was favourable.
- Proximate composition and lipid profiles were correlated with colour and TBARS.
- Replacement of animal fat by vegetable oil results in lower SFA and higher PUFA.

Mortadellas manufactured using Caiman yacare meat (70%) and pork fat (30%) were reformulated by substituting pork fat with increasing amounts of soybean oil (25%, 50%, and 100%) and evaluated 7, 30, and 60 days post-manufacture. The substitutions resulted in an increase in fat content and in the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (total PUFA; 18:2 n − 6 and 18:3 n − 3), and a reduction in saturated fatty acids (total SFA; 14:0 and 16:0). These alterations reduced (P < 0.01) the indices of atherogenicity and thrombogenicity by 4- to 5-fold in the formulation with 100% soybean oil compared to the original formulation. The levels of TBARS obtained at day 7 were positively correlated (P < 0.01) with 18:2 n − 6 and 18:3 n − 3 (r = 0.83 and 0.84, respectively) and negatively correlated with 17:0 and 17:1 (r = − 0.91 and − 0.89, respectively). All formulations received favourable overall acceptability by the sensory panel.