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Texture profile analysis, small deformation rheology, and a back extrusion technique were utilized to identify and understand factors that affect ethylcellulose (EC) oleogel mechanical properties. Oil type, polymer molecular weight, polymer concentration, and surfactant incorporation were determined to be important factors that could be used to modify mechanical properties. Cryo-scanning electron micrographs revealed a a continuous polymer network entrapping oil filled pores. Significant differences in pore size (p 0.05) were found in gels made with different vegetable oils, polymer concentrations, and when a surfactant was utilized in the oleogels however; the molecular weight of EC was not found to have a significant impact on average pore size. Canola oil oleogels were added into comminuted meat products for the first time as a substitute for added animal fat, producing product that did not differ texturally from control products. Finally, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and ultraviolet light spectrophotometry (ULS) were also utilized in an attempt to provide quantitative protein-lipid interaction data.

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Alexander Zetzl is a food chemist with a PhD in Food Science from the University of Guelph, Canada, specializing in novel replacements for saturated and trans fat. Dr. Alejandro Marangoni and Dr. Shai Barbut are both professors at the University of Guelph, and together have over 400 publications in the fields of lipid technology and meat science.

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