Impact of a 25% Salt Reduction on the Microbial Load, Texture, and Sensory Attributes of a Traditional Dry-Cured Sausage

Abstract

Catalão is a Portuguese dry-cured traditional sausage, highly appreciated for its distinctive sensory properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a 25% salt reduction on Catalão manufactured with either purebred Alentejano (Al) or crossbred Iberian × Duroc (IDr) pork meat, on its physicochemical and microbiological stability, texture parameters, and sensory attributes. No significant effect of salt reduction or genotype was observed for pH, aW, and microbiological parameters. PUFA content was significantly higher for Al Catalão, particularly due to the content in linoleic and linolenic fatty acids. IDr 3% NaCl samples had the highest mean n6/n3 PUFA ratio, and the highest mean values for the atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices, showing that both genotype and salt content influence these nutritional indices. Texture profile of Catalão was significantly influenced by salt content and genotype. Al samples were less adhesive, cohesive, and easier to chew. Low-salt Catalão was harder, more adhesive, and less cohesive, with lower resilience and higher chewiness values. Regarding sensory attributes, salt content influenced the product aroma, with reduced-salt sausages being evaluated as significantly less aromatic. Overall, a 25% salt reduction did not have a significant impact on the quality, stability, and sensory evaluation of Catalão.

Innovative Applications of Tenebrio molitor Larvae in the Production of Sustainable Meat Sausages: Quality and Safety Aspects

“…Majcherczyk et al analyzed the chemical safety and quality attributes of dried sausages and investigated that the pH of the sausage obtained was slightly acidic (pH 6.12 ± 0.007); thus, our results are closer to the neutral medium [55]. The SD30 sample had a noticeably lower pH, which could influence its characteristics, possibly making it more prone to having a firmer texture and potentially offering an additional microbial stability benefit, but it may also impact flavor and color differently from those with a pH closer to the optimal range [56]. Sausages with mealworms showed a slight fluctuation in pH compared to the control, with lyophilized larvae (SD) sausages tending towards a lower pH, indicating a slight increase in acidity, especially noticeable in the SD30 group.…”

Stability at 22 ºC of type bologna mortadella elaborated in industrial unit

“…Formulation F2 showed greater hardness (p > 0.05) compared to formulation F1 (Table 3) and there was no significant difference for cohesiveness, adhesiveness, springiness and chewiness of mortadella formulations. The hardness attribute can be explained by the lower salt concentration in the F2, which favors an increase in hardness (Elias et al, 2020). The hardness attribute was also significantly influenced by the increase in fat, MSM and water and by the reduction of salt in the formulation (Table 1).…”

Impact of the reduction or replacement of NaCl during production and ripening of raw cured pork and turkey sausages

“…For example, Araya-Morice et al [8] and Hu et al [10] showed that NaCl reduction resulted in higher water activity (a w ) results of the sausages. Lower shear force/hardness results due to the NaCl reduction were shown by Elias et al [7], Araya-Morice et al [8], and Hu et al [11], whereas Corral et al [5] found lower cohesiveness and chewiness values of NaCl-reduced sausages. After sensory analyses, reduced saltiness/salty taste, hardness perception, and overall quality in NaCl-reduced raw fermented sausages were obtained [5,6,[8][9][10].…”

“…In the last years, several studies have been published investigating the effect of a NaCl reduction on the physicochemical, sensory, and microbiological parameters of raw fermented sausages during ripening [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. For example, Araya-Morice et al [8] and Hu et al [10] showed that NaCl reduction resulted in higher water activity (a w ) results of the sausages.…”