## 3 Results and Discussion
### Texture Parameters of Pates  
Texture is one of the most critical factors influencing meat product preference and acceptance [38]. The shear force of the pates with yellow mealworm powder after 1 day of storage was significantly lower than the control variant (Table 3). These changes may be related to incorporating additional fat with insect powder (18.5 g/100 g, as declared by the manufacturer) and weakening the structure of the pates. This was observed by adding walnut paste to liver sausages [39]. On the contrary, adding ground hemp seeds, also rich in fat, to the poultry pates increased the measured shear force [7]. Furthermore, robust and stiffer chitin and cuticular components may interfere with and decrease the structure and strength of the protein gel network generated by myofibrillar proteins [22], providing lower hardness of the pates. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Time (Day)**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Pate Variant**} \\ \cline{2-5}  & **PC** & **P3\%** & **P6\%** & **P9\%** \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Total Aerobic Mesophilic Bacteria (log CFU/g)} \\ \hline
1 & 2.05 ax 1 \(\pm\) 0.39 & 3.24 bx \(\pm\) 0.23 & 3.32 bx \(\pm\) 0.25 & 3.66 bx \(\pm\) 0.08 \\
7 & 2.30 ax \(\pm\) 0.41 & 3.47 bx \(\pm\) 0.04 & 3.65 bx \(\pm\) 0.04 & 3.67 bx \(\pm\) 0.13 \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{_Enterobacteriaceae_ (log CFU/g)} \\ \hline
1 & nd & nd & nd & nd \\
7 & nd & nd & nd & nd \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Psychrotrophic Bacteria (log CFU/g)} \\ \hline
1 & 1.56 ax \(\pm\) 0.31 & 2.13 abx \(\pm\) 0.17 & 2.41 bx \(\pm\) 0.38 & 2.46 bx \(\pm\) 0.35 \\
7 & 2.06 ax \(\pm\) 0.22 & 2.20 ax \(\pm\) 0.14 & 2.28 ax \(\pm\) 0.15 & 2.42 ax \(\pm\) 0.11 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Microbiological quality of the pátes with different yellow mealworm powder additions. After one week of storage, a higher value of shear force was observed for pates with 3 and 9% added insect powder compared to the control product. The effect of storage time on the shear force values was also observed. Significantly higher values were found for all pates with insect powder added. These changes could be attributed to interactions between ingredients such as proteins, polysaccharides, and water molecules due to the protein's possible progressive oxidation due to higher unsaturated fatty acid content in the tested pates. This resulted in a change in the functionality of the insect protein and the formation of cross-links between proteins [22; 40]. On the other hand, the higher solid content may have promoted water binding, especially during cooling and refrigerated storage, resulting in higher hardness [22; 23]. However, this requires further research, such as using NMR, to confirm. The spreadability of pates is influenced by factors such as fat content, fatty acid composition, protein reformulation, and microstructure [4; 41]. Changing the recipe of such a product also influences its spreadability [2]. In the case of the tested pates, the addition of yellow mealworm powder resulted in a reduction in the work required to spread the pate measured 1 day after production (Table 3). It was also found that this reduction depended on the addition of insects. However, the most significant change in spreadability was observed at the 3% and 6% addition levels. This may indicate that the addition at these levels had the most significant effect on the consistency and spreadability of the pate. Yellow mealworm powder is rich in fat and protein [42] and chitosan [43]. Increasing the fat content increases the spreadability of the pate [41; 44]. At the same time, the addition of protein or polysaccharide ingredients may improve the pate's ability to bind water and fat, which also reduces the work required to spread the pate sample [45; 46]. Analyses carried out after the storage test revealed significant changes in the spreadability of the pates obtained with the addition of yellow mealworm powder.