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Salting is considered to be one of the oldest food preservation techniques. In the past, salt that was used in meat product formulations always contained different types of impurities, among which were sodium nitrite and potassium nitrite. Today, nitrite salts are considered to be one of the most important additives in processed meat production. Due to their negative impact on human health, however, the industry has a challenge to find suitable ways to reduce nitrite content in meat products or to remove nitrites altogether from meat product formulations. Another challenge facing the meat industry is the formulation of low-fat products or products containing vegetable oils, which have more favourable n-3/n-6 fatty acid ratios than animal fats. Next, since excessive intake of sodium chloride was found to have negative effects on human health, the industry has to find a way to reduce the amount of this salt in meat products or to replace sodium chloride with different salts in order to meet consumer demands. In this paper, we review different approaches to reducing nitrites, fatty tissue and sodium chloride in dry fermented sausages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sausages are very open to adulteration because of their preparation procedures. The purpose of this study was to examine the chemical composition of fermented and heat-treated sausages prepared experimentally with the addition of tissues and organs that are likely to be used in adulterated meat products and to determine whether the chemical analyses provided adequate information about sausage composition. The experimental fermented or heat-treated sausages were prepared with the addition of tissues and organs (seven tissue/organ combinations were studied; head meat-lung, tongue-liver, trachea-rumen, spleen-intestine, mammary gland-brain, heart-testis and kidney-oesophagus) that are likely to be used to adulterate sausage meat products. Appropriate control sausages not containing any organ additions were prepared according to the Turkish Food Codex. The most remarkable result is that contents of moisture, fat, ash and total protein are not sufficient criteria to determine the quality of the sausages. However, hydroxyproline content is an important criterion for the detection of collagen tissue, and this chemical analysis must be supplemented by histological analysis in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of computer vision system (CVS) application in fat content estimation for different types of fermented sausages. Four different types of local fermented sausages with different fat contents were studied: Njeguška, Kulen, Pirotska and tea sausage. Results obtained for CVS-estimated fat content were compared to the results of traditional chemical analysis. Relative errors of fat content estimation in Njeguška, Kulen, Pirotska and tea sausage were 1.47%, 0.46%, 20.84% and 11.19%, respectively. Results of t-test showed a significant (p<0.01) difference between mean fat contents obtained by CVS and chemical analysis in the case of Pirotska sausage. On the other hand, there was no significant (p<0.01) difference between mean fat contents obtained by the two methods for the rest of the analysed sausages. The results indicate CVS has potential for application in the analysis of fat content of fermented sausages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meat preservation became essential for transportation of meat for long distances without spoilage of texture, colour and nutritional value after the development and rapid growth of supermarkets. The most ancient methods of preserving meat are drying and fermentation of meat products. Fermented sausage is mostly industrially produced, although not standardized, but it is acceptable to the majority of the population. In this study, the sensory proprieties and chemical characteristics of kulen, a type of dry fermented sausage, were examined. Two groups of kulen sausages had differing percentages of pork meat and sweet and cayenne pepper, while the amount of solid fat tissue and other ingredients added at manufacturing were the same. The results obtained show the ingredients used might have an influence on kulen's sensory properties, in this case especially on odour, taste, cross-section colour and overall acceptability average scores. Chemical analyses showed that kulen group 1 had a higher protein content (24.52%) than kulen group 2, which contained 23.00% meat protein, while the content of collagen in the meat protein was 7.02% (group 1) and 9.16% (group 2). Moisture in all these kulen sausages was less than 35%, while the values of other parameters were similar between the two kulen groups. Therefore, the raw materials and the other ingredients used in the technological production of kulen fermented sausage can influence the final product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteolysis of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein is a very important biochemical process that occurs during ripening of fermented meat products. As a result of proteinases and peptidases, the content of polypeptides, peptides and free amino acids, which participate in the development of odor, flavor and texture, increases. SDS-PAGE protein profiles of homemade fermented sausage with the addition of 0,5% and 1,5% whey and soy isolates were analyzed. In the preparation of samples sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar fractions were separated. Densitometric molecular weights of the proteins were calculated. Qualitative protein changes of fillings, sausages after ripening and during the six-month storage of vacuum packed samples at +4°C were analyzed. Biochemical changes, basically, were a bit different. Dynamics of changes in electrophoretic profiles of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins show very similar trends. Electrophoretic image of myofibrillar protein of fillings shows that proteins from ≈12 kDa to ≈105 kDa were present. Samples with added whey and soy protein had a smaller number of protein fractions in the same range. In the fillings of all samples a very large number of sarcoplasmic protein fractions were present, ranging from ≈9 kDa to ≈115 kDa. During ripening there was a progressive degradation of myofibrillar proteins, but also sarcoplasmic proteins of high molecular weight. After six months, homemade fermented sausage and sausages with the addition of soy protein had evident reduction in the number of fractions, and identical profile, while the samples with the addition of whey protein had fractions that were not present in other samples. Based on the results, obtained by testing the traditional fermented sausages produced in industrial conditions during ripening and storage, it can be concluded that the used supplements had impact on reducing the pH. Intensive decrease of pH had a positive effect on the drying and proteolysis in the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of fermented sausages in households in our region has a long tradition, especially in Vojvodina and in some parts of Serbia (Sandžak, Zlatibor, Pirot). In this experiment, the impact of the selected casings (natural and artificial) of different diameters (broader or narrower) produced in the traditional way (uncontrolled conditions), used in the production of fermented sausages, on the microbiological status (total number of bacteria, total number of lactic acid bacteria, the total number of entero bacteria) and changes of physical properties (pH and water activity). The results show that the microbiological status depended on the diameter of fermented sausages, wherein the total number of bacteria at the end of the ripening was significantly higher in the sausage of a wider diameter as compared to the smaller diameter of the sausage. The average total number of lactic acid bacteria increased during the ripening process, and at day 31 of the testing statistically significant difference between the examined groups of sausages were determined. At the end of the manufacturing process, the smaller diameter sausages had higher pH value as compared to sausages of a wider diameter. The average value of water activity had a trend of decline among all groups of fermented sausages during the manufacturing process. The production of traditional fermented sausages, despite uncontrolled conditions, is justified not only because of the quality of these products, but also because of the authentic production which is an integral part of the tradition of our people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]