This attention is forcing Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) to re-think their current menu choices with a stronger emphasis on nutrition. Many now are offering salads, meatless burgers, and other lower-fat items but, unfortunately, the mainstay menu items for QSRs are processed meats such as hamburgers, pork breakfast sausage and breaded chicken, all of which typically are high in fat. PenGel® fat replacer is an ingredient that mimics the attributes of fat in processed meats says its supplier, the Penford Food Ingredients Company (Englewood, Colo.).
Manufacturers making products for the QSR industry are asked to provide healthier products to either replace or augment current menu offerings. To address this need for flavorful, healthful products that consumers will continue to purchase, meat processing companies will need to remove significant portions of fat from their product formula. Typically, removal of large amounts of fat from meat products negatively impacts the attributes that drive consumer acceptance.