Effects of different phosphate content on the quality of wheat bran chicken sausage

Introduction. The addition of phosphates improves the emulsifying and gelling properties of meat proteins as well as overall product quality. The effect of phosphate addition on the properties of low-fat chicken sausages containing wheat bran was studied in this article. Materials and methods. Cooking loss, emulsification stability, water distribution, texture and sensory characteristics of wheat bran chicken sausage added with different amounts of complex phosphate were determined. Results and discussion. The positive influence of phosphate addition on technological and textual properties of meat products is known, however taking into account consumer’s acceptability, determination of phosphate content in sausages ensuring their high quality but not but not exceeding this value is needed. Low–fat chicken sausages with increased dietary fiber content due to inclusion in the sausage formulation of wheat bran were used as the object of the study. Comparative characteristics of wheat bran chicken sausage added with different amounts of complex phosphate, namely, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 g to 400 g of ground chicken meat were determined. It was shown that the minimum cooking water and fat losses were observed when addition of 1.5 g of complex phosphate was used. Thus, addition of 1.5 g of complex phosphate to 400 g of ground chicken meat ensured better retaining of water and fat, lowest cooking loss and highest emulsifying stability than in cases when 1.0 or 2.0 g of complex phosphate were added. At the same time, the results showed that the sausage containing 1.5 g phosphate per 400 g of ground chicken had the highest hardness, elasticity and chewiness, and the highest overall acceptability score of sensory evaluation, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). Addition of 1.5 g phosphate per 400 g of ground chicken reduced the fluidity of free water in the sausage, and thus enhanced the water-retaining ability of chicken sausage. In addition, the results of the pseudo-color map showed that the semi-bound water of the S2 and S3 treatment groups increased significantly. Conclusions. Addition of complex phosphate, 0.2 %, in formulation of low-fat wheat bran chicken sausages decreases cooking, moisture and fat losses, and improves the texture and sensory properties of the final product.