Preservation of low-fat n-3 enriched chicken sausage during refrigerated storage

S. C. ANDRÉS; N ZARITZKY,; A CALIFANO,

Viña del Mar, Chile

Congreso; Tenth International Congress on Engineering and Food (ICEF 10); 2008

Meat products can be modified by adding ingredients considered beneficial for health or by eliminating or reducing components that are considered harmful, thus improving the nutritional and health qualities of their products. Long chain polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acids (FA) are critical nutrients for human health, and fortification of foods with these FA is an emerging area of commercial and academic interest. Oils in the form of n-3 polyunsaturated FA occur mainly in cold water fish but since they are easily oxidazed special care should be taken to protect them. The objectives of this work were to develop, characterize and study the storage stability of low-fat chicken sausages formulated with whey protein concentrate, guar and xanthan gums and squid oil as a source of n-3FA. The products were heated until the temperature of the center reached 74°C, cooled, vacuum packaged and stored at 4ºC. Process yield, proximal composition and acceptability by an untrained panel were determinate. Purge loss, pH, color, texture profile analysis, and lipid oxidation (TBARS) at different storage times were examined. Microbial counts (mesophilic and psychrotrophic microorganisms, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae,  yeast, and molds) were conducted. The quality was tested at 2-week intervals for total coliform and sulfite-reducing Clostridium counts. For FA profile was determined by gas chromatography. Extra lean (<6% fat) formulations showed good thermal stability, with process yields greater than 97%, and purge losses less than 3.1% at the end of the study. Color parameters  and pH remained constant. Hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness and resilience slightly increased during storage. Lipid oxidation was low (<0.5mgMDA/kg) due to the combination of antioxidant (synthetic vitamin E), vacuum package and low temperature. Saturated FA content of the sausages was lower than 30% of the total, unsaturated FA higher than 74%, being the n-3FA content higher than 30%. Neither coliforms nor sulfite-reducing Clostridium were detected during the storage of the products, indicating safe sanitary conditions. The mesophilic microorganisms reached levels lower than 5 logCFU/g after 100 days of storage. The n-3 enriched low fat sausages had acceptable sensory scores. Thus healthier extra lean products with very good stability and quality attributes were obtained.