Evaluation of microbial and sensory properties of red meat sausage formulated with carmine dye and cumin essential oil as nitrate substitute

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Varamin-Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran

2 Halal Research Center of IRI., Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

3 Iran Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Nitrate and nitrite have long history of use in processed meat products and several studies have been done about their replacement with healthier alternatives. In this work, production of nitrite-free sausages containing cumin essential oil (EO) and carmine dye was studied for the first time. Concentrations of 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg carmine alone and in combination with 2 mL cumin EO were added to sausages containing 40% w/w meat. Microbial growth and sensory attributes were studied in the samples during storage. Principal component analysis (PCA) was done for better comparison of control (formulated with 12o my/kg sodium nitrite) and the treatments. The sample containing 2 mL cumin EO and 600 mg/kg carmine (T7) could successfully suppress the microorganisms. Main concern was related to Clostridium perfringens as indicator of C. botulinum in the product. Fortunately, T7 was superior to the control in suppression of C. perfringens. According to PCA, T7 was similar to the control in variation of microbial contamination during storage and it was accepted by sensory panelists same as control. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between the sample containing 2 mL cumin EO and 400 mg/kg carmine (T6) and the control in microbial and sensory experiments. In conclusion, addition of 400-600 mg/kg carmine and 2 mL cumin EO to sausage led to development of healthier products. Given the health concerns arisen from synthetic preservatives, our selected formula can be developed as organic nitrate-free sausage to prevent side-effects of nitrosamine in the consumers.

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Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 14 February 2024

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