Antioxidant effect of rosemary,borage, green tea,pu‐erh tea and ascorbic acid on fresh pork sausages packaged in a modified atmosphere: influence of the presence of sodium chloride

Fresh pork sausages formulated with and without salt, and with antioxidant mixtures containing either rosemary extract, green tea powder, pu‐erh tea infusion or borage meal and their mixtures with ascorbic acid, were packaged in an atmosphere containing four parts O₂ with one part CO₂ (v/v) and stored in the dark for 20 days. In a series of three experiments, the following parameters were measured at 4‐day intervals: instrumental colour (CIE L* and a*), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), aerobic psychrotroph counts and sensory off‐odour and discolouration. NaCl caused a decrease of the L* value and promoted lipid oxidation, but it protected sausages from discolouration. Green tea powder, pu‐erh tea infusion and borage meal caused a strong inhibition of lipid oxidation, dependent on the concentration used, but they failed to protect sausages from colour loss, even in the presence of ascorbic acid. Rosemary extract plus ascorbic acid strongly inhibited lipid oxidation and therefore off‐odour formation, delayed sausage discolouration and inhibited microbial growth, extending the shelf‐life of salted fresh pork sausages by at least 4 days. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry