B.

Chicken Hamburger

Chicken Hamburgers can be found on every menu of every fast-

food restaurant or fast-food chain.  Chicken burgers or

sandwiches ranked number two in the sandwich pecking order and at

the end of the year 2019 it reached up to 4 billion servings

ordered (NDP Group, 2021).

Chicken Hamburgers consist of the following ingredients per

serving: for the patty, boneless Chicken, Bleached Wheat Flour,

Water, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil,

Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Wheat Flour, Modified Corn Starch, Sea

Salt, Spice, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Paprika, Dextrose, Sodium

Phosphates, Leavening (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid

Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Wheat Gluten,

Natural Flavors With Extractives Of Paprika, Yeast, Corn Starch,

Garlic Powder.

For the bun:  Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour,

Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid),

Water, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less: Salt,

Wheat Gluten, Potato Flour, May Contain One or More Dough

Conditioners (DATEM, Ascorbic Acid, Mono and Diglycerides,

Enzymes), Vinegar. For the toppings, shredded lettuce. Lastly for

the sauce: Soybean Oil, Egg Yolk, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Salt,

Sugar, Spice, Lemon Juice Concentrate.

Each ingredient has a role or function in the food. The main

ingredient of the patty is the boneless chicken and it is breaded

with Bleached Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Modified Corn Starch,

Leavening (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate,

Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Wheat Gluten, and Corn

Starch. The bleached wheat flour in the patty is typically

refined, meaning that the nutrient-rich bran and germ of the

wheat kernel have been removed, stripping the grain of many of

its valuable vitamins and minerals and leaving only the

endosperm. Bleached flour is treated with chemical agents like

benzoyl peroxide, potassium bromates, or chlorine, which helps

speed up the aging of the flour. Flour is aged to improve certain

qualities for baking. This chemical process significantly changes

the taste, texture, and appearance of the final product. Added to

the bleached wheat flour for coating is wheat flour, Wheat flour

is a common ingredient in baked goods. Wheat flour contains a lot

of carbohydrates as well as additional ingredients like proteins,

lipids, and other things that alter its qualities (Prabhasankar

et al., 2011). Lipids make up only 1%–3% of the overall content

of wheat flour. Lipids can be divided into two types: free and

bound lipids. There are equal amounts of polar and nonpolar

lipids in these components. Phospholipases catalyze the breakdown

of both nonpolar and polar lipids, enhancing taste development

and generating emulsifiers in the process (Monfort et al.,

1999).  Modified corn starch is a starch that undergone the

chemical process, in the case of chicken hamburger the modified

corn starch undergone the chemical process of oxidation which

makes the modified corn starch a function to Lower viscosity,

improved whitening of granules, high paste clarity, low-

temperature stability, and increased adhesion; reduces

retrogradation of cooked starch pastes. In food application,

therefore, it acts and functions as a binder in battered meat and

breading, film former and binder in confectionery, crispy coating

in various fried foodstuffs, texturizer in dairy products

(Egharevba, 2019). On the other hand, the leavening agents

together with yeast are used in food products to help create

structure and texture through gas expansion as a result of a

chemical reaction, or as the nucleation seed for gas formation

(Johnson & Schuette 2019). It is mainly used to achieve the

crispiness (fracturability and hardness) of battered chicken meat

(Ashari et al., 2019).  Lastly, for the breading of the patty,

wheat gluten functions to add stability. When food is dipped in

the batter, wheat gluten in a batter forms the film that can

reduce moisture loss and produce a crisp and appetizing surface.

This is because wheat flour contains some reducing sugar that can

develop caramelization during frying, contributing to the color

and flavor of the batter coating. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose

(HPMC) with film-forming properties could increase moisture

retention and reduce oil pick up (Kyaw et al., 2017).

Preservatives are also added to the patty of the chicken

hamburger. Which includes: Potassium Chloride,   Dextrose, and

Sodium Phosphates. Potassium chloride is a leading reformulation

technology for reducing sodium in food products(van Buren et al.,

2016). It is a food ingredient derived from nature, is recognized

as safe by the FDA for use as a flavor enhancer and a

preservative. It provides  taste benefits similar to salt by

enhancing the natural flavors that are present in food. As a

preservative, potassium chloride helps to keep food fresher

longer by preventing it from spoiling or going bad. Sodium

phosphate is an umbrella term that refers to multiple

combinations of sodium (salt) and phosphate (an

inorganic, salt-forming chemical. It can be found in fast

food, processed meat, and other manufactured foods. It

functions as a stabilizer to keep oil and water mixed and

balance the acidity and alkalinity of which results in

extension shelf life and improving taste (Whelan, 2018).

Dextrose is a type of sugar that usually comes from corn or

wheat. Dextrose is almost identical to glucose, which is the

sugar found in the bloodstream. Dextrose is often used in foods

as an artificial sweetener or a preservative. Primarily, sugar

is added to cured or processed meat to counteract the intense

saltiness of cured meat and as a medium (food) for the microbial

fermentation process used to reduce the pH (American Meat Science

Association, 2016, para. 9). 

There are also a variety of additives that is added to the

chicken hamburger to enhance its flavor. These flavor additives

include Vegetable oil, Sea Salt, Spice, Salt, Paprika, Garlic

Powder. Vegetable oil derived from plant sources plays a vital

role in providing nutrition. It also plays an important role in

food preparation by enhancing the flavor of food, adding texture

to the food, making baked products crispier, and helping in

conducting heat while cooking. Sea salt is made by evaporating

saltwater, it is a minimally processed type of salt that adds

flavor to foods and is used because of its coarse and crunchy

texture (Bjarnadottir, 2019). Paprika is a spice made from the

dried peppers of the plant Capsicum annuum it is used as a

flavoring for meat rubs. Lastly, garlic powder is used as a

condiment and a seasoning to add flavor to the meat. 

The bun of the chicken hamburger consists of different flour

to make up the dough. These flours are Enriched Flour, Wheat

Gluten, Potato Flour, and Dough Conditioners. Enriched flour is

flour in which most of the natural vitamins and minerals have

been extracted. This is done to give the bread a finer texture

and increase shelf life. When the bran and the germ (the parts of

the wheat that contain fiber and nutrients) are removed, your

body absorbs wheat differently. Gluten is a mixture of hundreds

of distinct proteins within the same family, although it is

primarily made up of two different classes of proteins: gliadin,

which gives bread the ability to rise during baking, and

glutenin, which is responsible for dough's elasticity (Bradford,

2017). Potatoes have been added to bread for improvement of

texture and moisture retention. The addition of potato flour may

reduce dough strength and loaf volume, but it reduced staling and

increased the resistant starch content of the bread (Whitney &

Simsek, 2020). A dough conditioner, flour treatment agent,

improving agent, or bread improver is any ingredient or chemical

added to bread dough to strengthen its texture or otherwise

improve it in some way. Dough conditioners may include enzymes,

yeast nutrients, mineral salts, oxidants and reductants,

bleaching agents, and emulsifiers. [1]

They are food additives

combined with flour to improve baking functionality. Soybean oil

is used in making bread to achieve less elasticity and better

texture, including a more tender and fluffy texture. Lastly, for

the mixture of the dough, Vinegar is a mild acid that helps break

down the starches and proteins in your bread. It changes the pH

levels of the batter. Adding it to your bread dough can help with
good rise, moist crumb, airy texture, and it also enhances the

flavor (Gareth, 2021).

their effects on the body: One chicken hamburger consist of 400

calories, 21 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbs, and 19 grams of

proteins. As seen and mentioned in the previous paragraph of this

section, the chicken hamburger contains additives and

preservatives. In the patty, Sodium phosphate is being used as an

additive

even to the environment: