Vol. 9, Special Issue 6, Part E (2025)

Groundnuts (peanuts) are a rich source of vegetable protein and dietary fiber, which are often lacking in meat. They can be incorporated into comminuted chicken meat products to enhance their nutritional value. Groundnut proteins exhibit good emulsifying activity, stability, foaming capacity, excellent water retention, and high solubility, making them a valuable protein ingredient in food product formulations. The present study was conducted to assess the quality of chicken nuggets embodied with mesh groundnut and powdered groundnut stored at refrigerated temperature. Firstly, chicken nuggets were prepared as per formulation decided. Chicken nuggets was developed with incorporation of groundnuts mesh, groundnut powder. Shelf life was studied at 4±1 °C for 10 days. Proximate composition and sensory attributes were analyzed during the storage period. Average values observed for groundnut mesh (T₁) were moisture-55.65%, protein-19.64%, fat-19.25%, and total ash-3.25%. For the groundnut powder (T₂), it was 55.42% (moisture), 19.70% (protein), 19.54% (fat) and 3.34% (total ash). Sensory parameters studied were indicating that groundnut powder (T₂) was more acceptable to sensory panellist than the ground nut mesh (T₁) and ground nut powder (T₂) was ranked very good throughout the storage period. Value added meat products may help to open new window to the snack food market in developing and under developed countries.