Simplex-centroid mixture design as a tool to evaluate the effect of added flours for optimizing the formulation of native Brazilian freshwater fish burger

The development of fish-based products can meet consumers' desires related to sensory, nutritional, and convenience aspects. In addition, it can contribute to the waste reduction of undervalued fish portions. This study presents the results of the optimization of fish burger formulations based on mechanically separated meat (MSM) of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) with oatmeal and cassava starch, using a simplex-centroid mixture design (SCMD) with total flour concentrations ranging from 0% to 10%, and MSM from 82.5% to 92.5%. The formulations were evaluated for physicochemical, yield, and sensory characteristics. The addition of flour had a positive effect (p <= 0.05) on physicochemical and sensory properties, resulting in a 12% higher cooking yield compared to the formulation without flour. All formulations scored high acceptance; however, the formulation with the binary combination between flours showed the best ranking in the preference test and presented a score of 7.58 on the 9-Point hedonic Scale of global acceptance. Hardness was higher in the pure pseudo-component combinations but provided a reduction in binary and ternary combinations. The study shows the importance of optimization tools in product development aiming to consider yield and cost aspects.