Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities (EJPAU) founded by all Polish Agriculture Universities presents original papers and review articles relevant to all aspects of agricultural sciences. It is target for persons working both in science and industry,regulatory agencies or teaching in agricultural sector. Covered by IFIS Publishing (Food Science and Technology Abstracts), ELSEVIER Science - Food Science and Technology Program, CAS USA (Chemical Abstracts), CABI Publishing UK and ALPSP (Association of Learned and Professional Society Publisher - full membership). Presented in the Master List of Thomson ISI.
2008
Volume 11
Issue 2
Topic:
Food Science and Technology
ELECTRONIC
JOURNAL OF
POLISH
AGRICULTURAL
UNIVERSITIES
Pyrcz J. , Kowalski R. , Bilska A. , Uchman W. 2008. EFFECT OF SELECTED ANTIOXIDANTS ON SOME FAT CHARACTERISTICS AND SENSORY QUALITY OF RAW SAUSAGES, EJPAU 11(2), #01.
Available Online: http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume11/issue2/art-01.html

EFFECT OF SELECTED ANTIOXIDANTS ON SOME FAT CHARACTERISTICS AND SENSORY QUALITY OF RAW SAUSAGES

Jan Pyrcz, Ryszard Kowalski, Agnieszka Bilska, Waldemar Uchman
Institute of Meat Technology, University of Life Sciences in Poznań, Poland

 

ABSTRACT

The influence of the addition of same antioxidants such as: BHT and protein hydrolysate and rosemary extract on some fat characteristic and sensory quality of raw sausages was checked during this research. The quality of experimental sausages was evaluated by determination: their sensory desirability and their acid numbers and content of free fatty acids. The results of the performed investigations revealed that the both checked factors of technological variability, i.e. the application of three types of antioxidants and the time of maturation diversified the results of examined quality parameters of raw sausages. It was further demonstrated that the applied antioxidants caused the slightly reduction of the acid number value, increased the total content of the lower volatile fatty acids and diversified the proportions of the determined free fatty acids. It was also found that raw sausages manufactured with the assistance of selected antioxidants were characterized by a slightly better sensory desirability of the taste and odour in comparison with the control sausages.

Key words: raw sausages, fat, sensory, quality, antioxidants.

INTRODUCTION

Raw sausages comprise a group of meat products which are characterized by a specific flavour profile, red colour as well as considerable stability and nutritional value [12].

Characteristic qualitative features of raw sausages are achieved most frequently in the course of a long-term and complicated process of maturation. The production of these sausages consists in a skilled control and monitoring of biochemical and microbiological transformations as well as physical processes which take place in the bulk of the sausage mixture in the course of production and during the post-manufacture maturation. During these transformations, both volatile and non-volatile aromatic substances develop in raw sausages and include, for example: lactic and propionic acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxyl acids, alkanes, amines and many others [1,10]. The above compounds, depending on their concentrations, can exert a significant influence on the development of qualitative traits of finished raw sausages. Ultimately, their quality depends on the transformational dynamics of the protein, carbohydrate as well as fat fractions.

Changes caused by the oxidation and hydrolysis of the lipid fraction are among the most significant transformations taking place in the discussed meat articles. Products of these transformations frequently lead to the deterioration of raw sausages and, for this reason, an effective method allowing to prevent undesirable changes of the lipid fraction is the application of antioxidants. From the point of view of their origin, antioxidants can be divided into natural and synthetic. Natural antioxidants comprise substances which can be found in edible products, primarily, of plant origin as well as those which develop in the course of technological processes or during the preparation of meals, in other words, which constitute food constituents. The most common natural antioxidants include: tocopherols and tocotrienols which compose the vitamin E family. Fats provide their main source, with oils being their richest supply. Other sources of these compounds include aromatic spices such as: rosemary, oregano, marjoram, thyme and garden sage, amino acids and proteins (protein hydrolyzates), phospholipids, natural phenolic compounds and many others. The most common synthetic compounds comprise: butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), tertiary-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), gallic acid esters [5,8,14].

The presence of antioxidants in food articles improves preservation of sensory traits of products and reduces losses of some constituents of considerable nutritional significance [4,3,12,13,14,15].

Aim of the work
The objective of the presented research was to find the influence of the addition of some antioxidants on changes of selected fat characteristics and the sensory quality of raw sausages of the “Polish raw” type.

EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS

The experimental material comprised raw sausages of the “Polish raw” type manufactured from pork meat of class l – 40% and class ll – 60%. The meat of class l was ground using a grinder plate with 8 mm diameter, while that of class ll – 5 mm diameter. Next, the following ingredients were added to the ground meat-fat raw material: pickling mixture in the amount of 2.2%; spices: black pepper 0.15%, paprika – 0.10% and starter cultures – Bactoferm F-RM-52 (0.25 g·kg-1 meat) of Chr. Hansen Company as well as three different antioxidants, namely: rosemary ethanol extract in the amount of 0.05%, soybean protein hydrolyzate – 2% and BHT – 0.02% in relation to the sum of raw materials. The batter for raw sausages prepared in this way was filled into natural casings 30-32 mm in diameter and, after 24 h settling at the temperature of 18-20°C, sausages were smoked with cold smoke (22-24°C) for 24 h. The final product was then stored in air-conditioned rooms, i.e. at the temperature of 14-15°C and air relative humidity of 75-77% for the period of 30 days.

Four types of experimental raw sausages were manufactured in this way (control sample and three samples with selected antioxidants) which were designated as follows: A, B, C, D – Table 1.

Table 1. Raw material composition of the experimental raw sausages

Number

Formulation

Types of sausages

A

B

C

D

1.

Pork meat – class I

40

40

40

40

2.

Pork meat – class II

60

60

60

60

3.

BHT

0.02

4.

Protein hydrolyzate

2.0

5.

Rosemary extract

0.05

The quality of the experimental raw sausages was evaluated on the basis of the following tests:

The examined quality parameters in the experimental raw sausages were analysed in the ground meat as well as in the final product following 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 days of storage in air-conditioned rooms.

The presented results are means of three independent replications of production series. Statistical conclusions were carried out at the significance level of α = 0.05.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Changes in the total volatile lower fatty acids
Two volatile lower fatty acids were determined in the experimental raw sausages, namely acetic (C:2) and propionic acids (C:3). It should be stressed that in the quantitative proportion, it was acetic acid that was always dominant (Table 2).

It was demonstrated that the application of the both checked variants (use of selected antioxidants as well as the time of storage) failed to diversify the content of lower volatile fatty acids. They were found to influence statistically only the concentration of these acids but not ist dynamics (Table 2). The content of volatile fatty acids in the experimental sausages was found to increase up the 15th day of their storage, followed by a slight loss of these compounds. During the final phase of maturation, i.e. after 30 days, their content was found to be 3 times higher in comparison with the initial phase.

Table 2. Content changes of total lower volatile fatty acids (C:2; C:3) in experimental raw sausages [µg·100 g-1 sausage]; (n=6)

Time of
ripening

Kind of fatty
acids

Type of sausage

A

B

C

D

0

C:2

21.9b

22.3b

22.3b

22.0b

C:3

1.7a

1.7a

1.6a

1.6a

Sum

23.6

24.0

23.9

23.6

5

C:2

47.8b

48.2b

49.3b

49.5b

C:3

2.3a

2.5a

2.6a

2.7a

Sum

50.1

50.7

51.9

52.2

10

C:2

97.1b

97.2b

99.3b

98.4b

C:3

4.8a

4.9a

5.2a

5.1a

Sum

101.9

102.1

104.5

103.5

15

C:2

106.9b

107.2b

108.4b

110.5b

C:3

5.9a

6.2a

6.8a

6.9a

Sum

112.8

113.4

115.2

117.4

20

C:2

101.5b

102.0b

103.2b

103.9b

C:3

4.8a

4.8a

5.1a

4.9a

Sum

106.3

106.8

108.3

108.8

30

C:2

65.8b

65.1b

70.2b

69.1b

C:3

2.2a

1.9a

2.1a

2.6a

Sum

68.0

67.0

72.3

71.1

Explanations: small different letters next to mean values designate statistically significant differences at the level of p = 0.05; Xmean – arithmetic mean of research results (n = 6).

It is evident from literature data that volatile lower fatty acids develop in raw sausages following a number of biochemical reactions taking place in the bulk sausage material. The above reactions can occur as a result of oxidation of higher fatty acids, amino acid desamination as well as fermentation of sugars contained in the ground sausage meat [6,10].

Changes inys free higher fatty acids
The results of analytical investigations revealed that with the prolongation of the storage time of the experimental raw sausages the content of the total higher free fatty acids also increased. Both in the case of sausages to which the selected antioxidants were added and in reference sausages, dynamics of the accumulation these acids was characterised by identical courses (Table 3). In addition, considerable variability in the quantitative increments of individual determined higher free fatty acids was demonstrated. The increase in the total free higher fatty acids was influenced, primarily, by oleic acid whose average quantity in the examined batter ranged from 0.29 to 0.30 mg·g-1 of fat. The highest concentration of this acid was recorded on the 20th day of maturation and, on average it ranged from 0.96 to 0.97 mg·g-1 of fat. The highest quantity increment dynamics of this acid was observed during the first five days of storage of experimental sausages.

Table 3. Content changes of free higher fatty acids in experimental raw sausages [mg·g-1 fat]; (n=6)

Type of sausage

Ripening time

C12:0

C14:0

C16:0

C18:0

C18:1

C18:2

C20:0

C22:0

 

A

0

0.02a

0.01a

0.15a

0.11a

0.30a

0.08a

0.03a

0.09a

5

-

0.04a

0.28b

0.12a

0.52b

0.08a

0.02a

-

10

-

0.09a

0.74c

0.15a

0.77c

0.15b

0.04a

-

15

-

0.13b

0.97c

0.19a

0.79c

0.21b

0.05a

-

20

-

0.21b

0.31b

0.24b

0.96d

0.35c

0.07a

-

30

-

0.26b

0.42b

0.26b

0.47b

0.31c

0.06a

-

 

B

0

0.02a

0.0a

0.16a

0.11a

0.30a

0.09a

0.03a

0.09a

5

-

0.04a

0.28b

0.13a

0.52b

0.08a

0.02a

-

10

-

0.10a

0.78c

0.15a

0.75c

0.16b

0.04a

-

15

-

0.14b

0.99c

0.19a

0.79c

0.21b

0.05a

-

20

-

0.21b

1.32d

0.24b

0.96d

0.36c

0.07a

-

30

-

0.27b

1.43d

0.26b

0.49b

0.32c

0.06a

-

 

C

0

0.02a

0.01a

0.15a

0.11a

0.29a

0.08a

0.03a

0.09a

5

-

0.04a

0.29b

0.13a

0.52b

0.08a

0.02a

-

10

-

0.10a

0.76c

0.16a

0.75c

0.16b

0.04a

-

15

-

0.14b

0.99c

0.19a

0.80c

0.22b

0.06a

-

20

-

0.21b

1.34d

0.24b

0.97d

0.36c

0.07a

-

30

-

0.27b

1.44d

0.27b

0.48b

0.33c

0.06a

-

 

D

0

0.02a

0.01a

0.15a

0.11a

0.30a

0.08a

0.02a

0.09a

5

-

0.04a

0.29b

0.13a

0.52b

0.08a

0.02a

-

10

-

0.09a

0.77c

0.16a

0.74c

0.16b

0.04a

-

15

-

0.14b

0.99c

0.20b

0.81c

0.22b

0.05a

-

20

-

0.21b

1.34d

0.24b

0.97d

0.36c

0.08a

-

30

-

0.27b

1.44d

0.27b

0.49b

0.33c

0.06a

-

Explanations: see Table 2.

The second dominant acid with regard to the quantitative increment was the palmitic (C:16) acid. Its level increased throughout the experimental period and ranged from 0.15 mg in the batter to 1.42-1.44 mg of fat on the 30th day of storage of experimental sausages. Similar quantitative changes were observed in the case of myristic acid (C:14). Also dynamics of the accumulation of the remaining free higher fatty acids during the entire experimental period showed quantitative variability between the examined sausages.

From among eight isolated and determined free higher fatty acids, six were saturated acids (lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachidic), whereas two of them were unsaturated acids: oleic and linolic acids.

Quantitative proportions of the determined free higher fatty acids varied considerably. The total quantity of the above mentioned acids was affected most by palmitic and oleic acids.

When analysing the hydrolytic changes of lipids in the experimental raw sausages, it should be taken into the consideration not only the adopted factors of technological variability (type of sausage and storage time) but also the content of water and the microflora of lipolytic character [8,9,15]. Various experiments [12] demonstrated that the antioxidants applied in the raw material reduced considerably fat oxidative changes of sausages manufactured in this way.

Hydrolytic changes – acid number
The adopted experimental model slightly differentiated fat hydrolytic changes of the examined raw sausages (Fig. 1). The performed statistical analysis of the obtained results revealed a dependence of acid number changes on the type of the applied antioxidant and storage (maturation) time of the examined sausages. The research results confirmed that the determined values of the acid number depended mainly on the storage time. The analysis of variance shows for storage time the calculated variance ratio Fcalc = 707.0 (Fref = 2.9) since for the kind of antioxidants was much smaller and equivalent to Fcalc = 10.7 (Fref = 3.3). Anyway, the influence of both these parameters are statistically significance on ther level smaller than α = 0.05. It was also found that the longer the storage time. Creates the higher the fatty acid content. The inclusion antioxidants in the sausage batters inhibits the process of fat hydrolytic decomposition right from the beginning of the production process up to the end of the experimental cycle. These changes became particularly evident in sausages after the 10th day of their storage. Selected antioxidants differentiated the effectiveness of those changes. BHT was assessed as the most technologically desirable antioxidant, while both the rosemary ethanol extract and soybean hydrolyzate were found to exert a slightly smaller impact.

Fig. 1. Changes in the acid number value in experimental raw sausages

On the basis of the calculated regression equations it was found that the type of the applied antioxidants had a significant influence on the lipid fraction changes of raw sausages. The developed regression equations make it possible to prognosticate the course of hydrolytic changes. Therefore, it can be said that they provide a good source of technological information regarding fat changes in raw sausages.

Evaluation of sensory desirability
The performed analysis of sensory desirability revealed that the added antioxidants did not change the assortment specificity of examined sausages.

The adopted factor of technological variability resulted only in a slight diversification of the partial assessment of quality parameters (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Sensory desirability: taste of experimental sausage [pkt]

The obtained results of sensory desirability showed that sausages manufactured with the assistance of antioxidants were characterised by a slightly better sensory desirability of the taste and odour, whereas deviations of colour and texture were unnoticeable.

Furthermore, the presented investigations demonstrated that experimental sausages varied depending on the time of their maturation. It was shown that the best organoleptic desirability of these sausages occurred in the period between day 10 and 20 of their post-manufacture storage.

Justification for the processing utilisation of antioxidants during the production of raw sausages should be sought not so much in the enhancement of their sensory desirability but rather in the improvement of their nutritive value as a result of unfavourable oxidative and hydrolytic changes of the lipid fraction.

CONCLUSIONS

  1. The application of choosed antioxidants in the production of experimental raw sausages caused a slight increase in the content of total lower volatile fatty acids and decreased the acid number value.

  2. The addition of antioxidants to raw sausage batter was found to diversify proportions of content of eight higher fatty acids. Palmitic and oleic acids were found dominant in this group.

  3. The addition of the selected antioxidants in to the raw material composition of the experimental raw sausages improved slightly the sensory desirability only of the taste and odour.


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Accepted for print: 12.03.2008


Jan Pyrcz
Institute of Meat Technology,
University of Life Sciences in Poznań, Poland
Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624 Poznań, Poland
ph (+48 61) 846 72 61
fax (+48 61) 846 72 54
email: janpyrcz@up.poznan.pl

Ryszard Kowalski
Institute of Meat Technology,
University of Life Sciences in Poznań, Poland
Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624 Poznań, Poland
ph (+48 61) 846 72 61
fax (+48 61) 846 72 54
email: kowalski@au.poznan.pl

Agnieszka Bilska
Institute of Meat Technology,
University of Life Sciences in Poznań, Poland
Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624, Poznań, Poland
phone: (+48 61) 846 72 61
email: abilska@au.poznan.pl

Waldemar Uchman
Institute of Meat Technology,
University of Life Sciences in Poznań, Poland
Wojska Polskiego 31, 60-624, Poznań, Poland
ph: (+48 61) 846 72 61
fax: (+48 61) 846 72 54
email: waluchm@au.poznan.pl

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