Effect of humectants on the shelf life of chicken sausage stored at ambient temperature

Abstract:

Inadequate cold storage facilities are among the most important factors that have impeded the development of the processed meat sector in developing countries, including India. Hence, there is a need to develop safe, nutritious and acceptable shelf-stable meat products using milder techniques that can be stored/marketed without refrigeration. Hence, a study on the effect of humectants on the shelf life of chicken sausages stored at ambient temperature was undertaken. Sorbitol at 1%, Texturized Soy Protein (TSP) at 2% and a combination of 0.5% Sorbitol and 1% TSP were used as humectants to reduce the water activity of the sausage to 0.93, and they served as treatments, T₁, T₂ and T₃, respectively. The pH and aw were significantly (P≤ 0.01) lower in the treatments. Tyrosine value was significantly different between the treatments at 30 hrs (P≤ 0.05) and 36 hrs (P≤ 0.05), TBARs values were significantly different between storage periods and in the overall storage means only. Hardness, gumminess and chewiness were significantly different between the treatments. Microbial counts were significantly lower in treatments. Treatments secured significantly higher sensory scores. Analysis of variance revealed a highly significant difference (P≤ 0.01) between the treatments (at 0 day and 30 hours), between the storage periods, between overall treatment means and between overall storage means. Further, the control group was microbiologically stable only at 24 hours of storage, whereas all the treatment groups were microbiologically stable up to 30 hours of storage.