| Popis: |
Introduction: The tendency to replace minimally processed foods by pre-cooked foods is increasing, mainly due to their convenience, but also because these foods have distinct organoleptic features (1, 2). This change in the population's eating pattern is linked with a high increase in the prevalence of chronic food-related diseases, namely obesity, diabetes and hypertension (2). Materials and methods: A supermarket brand and a commercial brand of pre-fried breaded fish were acquired from stores in the Lisbon region. These samples were fried and baked in the oven. Moreover, a sample of breaded fish from a fast-food restaurant, which was already cooked (fried), was also analysed. For the selected samples (pre-fried, fried and baked) total fat and salt contents were determined. Total fat determination was performed according to the acid hydrolysis method followed by Soxhlet extraction using petroleum ether; and the salt content was determined by Charpentier-Volhard’s titration (3). Results: The total fat content determined in breaded fish samples varied between 8.15 g/100 g (baked, supermarket brand) and 14.3 g/100 g (fried, commercial brand). In the samples submitted to frying, the fat content was 12.0 g/100 g (supermarket brand), 13.3 g/100 g (fast-food) and 14.3 g/100 g (commercial brand). The salt content in the analysed samples ranged from 0.945 g/100 g (pre-fried, commercial brand) and 1.29 g/100 g (fried, fast-food). Discussion and conclusions: The present work showed that the baked in the oven cooking method is preferable to the frying method, in order to reduce total fat consumption. It also revealed that the sample from the fast-food chain and the supermarket brand sample, both submitted to the frying process can be the less correct options due to the high salt content. This study will be very useful for future food recommendations and for the evaluation of nutritional intake in the Portuguese population. This work was funded by INSA, I.P. under the project “PTranSALT (2012DAN828)” and UID/QUI/50006/2019 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. T. G. Albuquerque is grateful for the PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/99718/2014) funded by FCT, FSE and MEC. N/A |
