Application and assessment of extruded edible casings manufactured from pectin and gelatin/sodium alginate blends for use with breakfast pork sausage.

Casings formed from pectin (PN) containing 2.5% and 5% corn oil (CO) and olive oil (OO) and gelatine/sodium alginate blends (GSAB) containing 2.5% CO and OO respectively were used for sausage manufacture. Mechanical properties and water content of casings were assessed prior to application. Following sausage manufacture, product quality and shelf-life evaluation were assessed in terms of sensory attributes, instrumental colour, moisture loss and lipid oxidation. All manufactured casings were of good quality and initially produced intact and stable sausage products. However, with time, shrinkage of products occurred where GSAB casings were used. Sensory analysis of sausages showed that PN casings were more preferred to GSAB casings for sausage manufacture. CIE colour analysis supported sensory evaluation. Water losses from sausages using GSAB casings were lower compared to sausages using PN casings due to GSAB casings having higher ability to trap and absorb water compared to PN casings. Lipid oxidation developed over time for all sausage products, however, sausages manufactured using GSAB casings containing both CO and OO at 2.5% had better oxygen barrier properties compared to sausages manufactured using PN containing the same concentration of emulsified oils. Sausages manufactured using casings containing OO were more prone to lipid oxidation than those using CO. Importantly, sausages manufactured using PN casings containing 5.0% CO were extremely stable to lipid oxidation over a six day storage period and significantly, were <1 on the TBARS numbers scale.

Evaluation of surimi, fat and water content in a low/no added pork sausage formulation using response surface methodology.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for simultaneous analysis of the effects of added surimi (0-40%), fat (5-30%) and water (10-35%), on the physical, textural and sensory characteristics of fresh breakfast pork sausages. Experimental design allowed for evaluation of potential interactive effects between these ingredients. Sausages were evaluated for texture, colour, water holding capacity (WHC) and sensory attributes. Three optimum recipes, R1 (25.3% surimi, 22.2% fat, 12.7% water, 25.3% pork), R2 (12.2% surimi, 5.5% fat, 38.7% water, 33.2% pork) and R3 (25.3% surimi, 6.3% fat, 28.5% water, 25.3% pork), were determined and these were evaluated against a full-fat commercial control (R4). Force values of R1 were not significantly different to R4, however, force values for R2 and R3 were lower (P<0.001). No significant differences were observed between R1, R3 and R4 for visual colour or sensory acceptability scores throughout the study, whereas scores for R2 were lower. Sensory analysis indicated that R2 had lower scores for texture (P<0.01), chewiness (P<0.01), acceptability (P<0.01), flavour (P<0.05) and preference (P<0.01). Results from this study suggest that it is possible to successfully replace pork meat with functional fish proteins in the manufacture of sausage type products.

Assessment of the antioxidant potential of natural food and plant extracts in fresh and previously frozen pork patties.

Antioxidant activities of aloe vera, fenugreek, ginseng, mustard, rosemary, sage, soya protein, tea catechins and whey protein concentrate (35% protein) were evaluated in pork patties prepared from both fresh and previously frozen (-20°C) pork. Chemical analysis showed test ingredients to be more effective in reducing lipid oxidation in patties made from previously frozen pork. Tea catechins, rosemary and sage were identified as being the most effective antioxidants with potency decreasing in the following order: tea catechins>rosemary>sage. Optimum addition rates of these ingredients suggested levels of 0.25, 0.10, 0.05% for tea catechins, rosemary and sage, respectively. Soya protein (0.10%) increased meat redness in fresh pork patties producing significantly (P<0.05) higher Hunter 'a' values over the controls on days 0, 3 and 6. However, fenugreek (0.01%) was more effective in increasing Hunter 'a' values in patties manufactured from previously frozen pork. No significant (P>0.05) differences in Hunter 'L' and 'b' values were found between test and control samples on storage. The pH values of tea catechins, sage and soya protein fluctuated over time. Fresh pork patties with mustard and ginseng caused an initial decrease followed by a subsequent increase in pH values. Fenugreek caused an initial increase in pH values followed by a decrease from day 3 onwards.

Evaluation of the antioxidant potential of natural food/plant extracts as compared with synthetic antioxidants and vitamin E in raw and cooked pork patties.

Antioxidant potential for previously identified optimum levels of aloe vera (AV), fenugreek (FGK), ginseng (G), mustard (M), rosemary (R), sage (S), soya protein (SPI), tea catechins (TC) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) were evaluated in raw and cooked patties manufactured from frozen pork. The optimum levels determined were: AV (0.25%), FGK (0.01%), G (0.25%), M (0.10%), R (0.10%), S (0.05%), SPI (0.10%), TC (0.25%) and WPC (4%). Test ingredients were evaluated against synthetic antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole/butylated hydroxytoluene (BHA/BHT) (0.01%) and a supplemented meat containing natural antioxidant, α-tocopherol (1000 mg α-tocopheryl acetate/kg feed). Ranking the decreasing antioxidant effectiveness of added ingredients in raw patties on day 9 showed that: Control>G>SPI>FGK>AV>M>WPC>S>α-tocopherol>R>TC>BHA/BHT. Cooking resulted in a four-fold increase in TBARS values over raw patties with TC being the most effective antioxidant having significantly (P<0.001) lower TBARS values than the cooked control on days 3, 6 and 9. Ranking of decreasing antioxidant effectiveness of added ingredients showed that: M>SPI>G>FGK>α-tocopherol>AV>control>S>BHA/BHT>R>WPC>TC. BHA/BHT had the most beneficial effect on cooked meat redness with Hunter 'a' values being significantly (P<0.05) higher than the control on days 3, 6 and 9. Ranking of Hunter 'a' values for added test ingredients showed that FGK>WPC>control>R>BHA/BHT>α-tocopherol>TC>AV>SPI>M>G>S on day 9. Hunter 'L' and 'b' values showed no significant trend over the storage period in either raw or cooked patties. The pH values of both raw and cooked pork control patties and products containing added test antioxidants were variable and while a number of trends were observed, no significant differences were recorded between samples.

The influence of added whey protein/carrageenan gels and tapioca starch on the textural properties of low fat pork sausages.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was used for simultaneous analysis of the effects of added high gelling 35% whey protein concentrate, (0-12%)/carrageenan (0-3%) preformed gels with dry addition of tapioca starch (0-3%), on the physical, textural and sensory characteristics of low-fat fresh pork sausages. Experimental design allowed for evaluation of potential interactive effects between these ingredients. Sausages were evaluated for cookloss, water holding capacity (WHC), mechanical texture and sensory attributes. Analysis of variance of regression models showed that ingredient blends had a significant influence on cookloss (p<0.01), WHC (p<0.05), purgeloss (p<0.05), texture (p<0.001) and the sensory attributes of flavour intensity (p<0.05), overall flavour (p<0.01) and juiciness (p<0.001). Addition of preformed gel and tapioca starch had a significant (p<0.01) negative interactive effect on % cook loss, and gave a significant (p<0.05) positive linear effect for mechanical textural values. Increasing levels of preformed gel blends with tapioca starch resulted in a general decrease in flavour intensity and overall flavour scores. Mixed gels containing high gelling 35% (protein) whey protein concentrate (8%) and carrageenan (1.5%), with dry addition of tapioca starch (3%) produced final low-fat (<3% fat) pork sausages with similar characteristics to those of full-fat (20% fat) controls.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation with α-Tocopheryl Acetate on the Stability of Reformed and Restructured Low Nitrite Cured Turkey Products.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of sodium (Na) nitrite reduction on the oxidative and colour stability of reformed and restructured cured cooked turkey products manufactured from meat containing high and low levels of dietary α-tocopheryl acetate. Turkeys were randomly assigned to either a control group, fed a basal α-tocopheryl acetate diet (20mg/kg feed), or a treatment group fed a supplemented α-tocopheryl acetate diet (600mg/kg feed). Diets were fed ad libitum from day 1 until slaughter on day 147. Breast meat from control and treatment groups was used to manufacture cured reformed cooked turkey ham and cured restructured cooked turkey patties. Residual levels of 60 and 120mg Na nitrite/kg of meat were used. Turkey products were packaged in either overwrap or vacuum packaging and stored under refrigerated (4°C) illuminated display for 10 days. Results showed that dietary supplementation with α-tocopheryl significantly (p<0·05) improved the oxidative and colour stability of all low nitrite products produced when compared to non-supplemented controls.