Healthier chicken nuggets incorporated with chia (Salvia hispanica L.) flour and partial replacement of sodium chloride with calcium chloride

Chicken nuggets were reformulated by substituting the chicken skin with chia flour and partially substituting the NaCl with CaCl2. Four treatments were processed: Control - 1.5 g/100 g NaCl, without the addition of chia flour; CaCl2 - 75% substitution of NaCl by CaCl2; Chia - 50% replacement of chicken skin by chia flour; Chia+CaCl2 - 75% replacement of NaCl by CaCl2 and 50% substitution of chicken skin by chia flour. The protein content increased with the incorporation of chia flour. Treatments CaCl2 and Chia+CaCl2 presented reduced sodium content. Chicken nuggets containing chia flour showed an increase of alpha-linolenic acid and can be labelled as high omega-3 content. Formulations Chia and Chia+CaCl2 presented lower sensory acceptance among the four formulations, but about 50% of consumers still considered them acceptable. Thus, the Chia+CaCl2 formulation could be recommended to consumers seeking healthier meat products, due to its high omega-3 and reduced sodium content.