Animal and Vegetable Protein Burgers: Bromatological Analysis, Mineral Composition, and Bioaccessibility Evaluation

Vegetable protein-based burgers consumption is becoming more popular among customers looking for healthy and low-calorie foods. An analytical procedure was proposed to evaluate the bromatological parameters, mineral composition, and bioaccessibility of macro and micro minerals in raw and cooked vegetable and animal protein burgers. The contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) was also estimated. The trueness of mass fractions quantification using certified reference material (CRM) and reference material (RM) of bovine liver were 86-112 and 77-104%, respectively. The mass balance of the bioaccessibility test, based on an in vitro simulation employing stomach and intestinal solutions, varied between 80 and 119%. Animal protein burgers presented higher protein and fat content and a higher Fe, K, P, and Zn mass fraction than the evaluated vegetable burgers. Industrialized burgers showed a high amount of Na, which can cause a public health problem. Bioaccessibility results indicated that vegetable-based burgers contribute to the ingestion of Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, and P, while the animal-based protein burger contributes mainly with Fe, Mo, P, and Zn. The experiment emphasized the need to provide nutritional information to allow the consumer to make a rational decision on the basis of the dietary facts of these products.