Comparative histological studies of mechanically versus manually processed sheep intestines used to make natural sausage casings

The natural sausage casings industry is large and worldwide, and casings prepared from the small intestine of sheep form a large part of it. Food safety authorities in several countries have been concerned about the risk to consumers from the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent. Although this agent could enter the European small ruminant population via infected feed, there is no evidence that it has. Because the BSE agent introduced experimentally into sheep and goats has a tissue distribution very similar to that found in animals with natural cases of scrapie, the agent would likely be found in the intestine and lymph nodes of some infected sheep from an early age. When natural casings are prepared from the intestine, the ileum (known to be infected in animals with natural cases of scrapie) is removed and the intestine is cleaned such that the inner (tunica mucosa) and outer (tunica serosa and tunica muscularis) layers are removed, leaving only the submucosa. There are two main methods for cleaning the intestine: manual and mechanical. The cleaning efficiency of these two methods was examined in the commercial environment as practiced on healthy sheep considered fit for human consumption in Turkey and Great Britain. The investigation involved a qualitative and quantitative histological approach. There was no significant difference in cleaning efficiency between the two methods, although there was some variation. No Peyer's patches or residues of them were found in any part of the cleaned casings. This finding is important because in sheep infected with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) Peyer's patches are likely to contain a major part of the intestinal infectivity. No serosa was found in any casing, but some residual mucosa and muscularis was retained, with more of the former than the latter. The results indicate that the cleaning efficiency of the two methods was broadly equivalent, that there was significant removal of tissue that could promote TSE infection, and that TSE risk reduction likely would be achieved by both methods, although this probability could not be quantified by the methods used in this study.     

Inactivation of foot-and-mouth disease virus in various bovine tissues used for the production of natural sausage casings

Bovine intestines, bladders and oesophagus are used for the production of natural casings ("beef casings") as edible sausage containers. Derived from cattle experimentally infected with FMDV (initial dosage 10(4) TCID(50)/mL, strain A Iran 97), these beef casings were treated with sodium chloride (NaCl) or phosphate supplemented salt (P-salt). In addition, different in-vitro experiments using beef casings were done on a small scale with other FMDV strains (A Turkey 06, C-Oberbayern and O(1) Manisa) as "proof of principle". Based on the combined results of the in-vivo and in-vitro experiments, it can be concluded that the storage period of 30 days at 20 °C in NaCl is sufficiently effective to inactivate a possible contamination with FMDV in beef casings and that the usage of P-salt does not clearly enhance the inactivation of FMDV infectivity. Storage of salted beef casings at about 20 °C for 30 days is already part of the Standard Operating Procedures (included in HACCP) of the international casing industry and can therefore be considered as a protective measure for the international trade in natural casings.     

Quality properties of sausage made with gamma-irradiated natural pork and lamb casing

Quality properties in emulsion-type sausage stuffed into irradiated natural casing were studied. Fresh salted and semidried natural pork and lamb casing was washed and irradiated at 0, 3, and 5 kGy by gamma-ray and emulsion-type pork sausage (Brattella Weiss Wurst) was manufactured. The sausage was stored in a 4°C refrigerator. The numbers of total aerobic bacteria, Enterococcus and coliform bacteria in the irradiated natural casing or sausage prepared from irradiated casing were significantly decreased or eliminated compared to those of the nonirradiated control. The D(10) values of total aerobic bacteria of the pork and lamb casing were 0.87 and 0.92 kGy, respectively. The vacuum-packaged sausages made with irradiated casings had a higher 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value than that of the nonirradiated controls only at 5-day with pork casing and at 10-day with lamb casing. The total working force for shear of the sausages was decreased in both irradiated casings but the sensory evaluation showed no difference. Therefore, the gamma irradiation was a useful technique to sanitize the natural pork and lamb casings and to extend shelf-life, primarily microbial quality, of the sausage made with natural casings.     

Inactivation of classical swine fever virus in porcine casing preserved in salt

Pig intestines used for the production of natural sausage casings may carry classical swine fever (CSF) virus. Feeding pigs with human food waste that contains pig casings may then spread the virus to CSF-free animals. Casings derived from a pig experimentally infected with CSF by dosing with 10(6) tissue culture infectious doses (TCID50) of the highly virulent CSF virus strain "Koslov", were treated with phosphate supplemented or citrate supplemented NaCl, instead of with NaCl alone, which is the standard preservation treatment for casings. Treated casings were stored for 30 days at either 4 degrees C or 20 degrees C. After storage the casings were fed to 16 susceptible pigs. CSF infection was confirmed in the four animals that had been fed casings treated with citrate supplemented salt and stored at 4 degrees C. All other animals remained healthy. It is therefore possible to avoid the inadvertent spread of CSF virus via porcine sausage casings by treating casings with phosphate supplemented salt and storing them for 30 days at temperatures over 4 degrees C.     

人造胶原肠衣的研究进展

肠衣作为食品包装材料,对维持肉制品的品质、延长货架期具有重要作用。随着肠衣需求量的增加,天然肠衣市场供不应求,为人造肠衣的出现和发展提供了机会。其中人造肠衣包括塑料肠衣、纤维素肠衣和胶原肠衣。在加工过程中每种肠衣都体现出各自的特点同时存在不同的亟待解决的问题。人造胶原肠衣在可食性、收缩性、黏着性等性能方面与天然肠衣相似,在资源稳定性和食品安全性等方面优于天然肠衣。胶原肠衣兼有天然肠衣和人造肠衣两者的优点,因此具有非常大的市场前景。本文在综述了肠衣类型的基础上,对比了国内外胶原肠衣的研究进展,总结了胶原肠衣的制备方法,并对胶原肠衣尤其是水产胶原肠衣的发展前景进行了展望,以期对胶原肠衣的研究提供理论基础。     

Effect of trisodium phosphate on slip and textural properties of hog and sheep natural sausage casings

The defective gliding of certain natural casings during the stuffing of sausages is an important problem in the meat processing industry. The gliding behaviour of (defective) hog and sheep casings was assessed with a newly developed instrument, and by a technologist during the stuffing of sausages. Casings were treated with 0.01 M trisodium phosphate; control casings were untreated. Cooked and smoked sausages were made in hog casings treated or untreated with phosphate and subjected to compression tests. In all cases the treatment with phosphate clearly facilitated the gliding of the casings over the test pipes, as compared to the control casings. The instrument to measure the casing gliding properties did not provide reliable information about the actual stuffing of sausages. The phosphate-treated casings had a lower shear force than the control casings after being used as skins for cooked and smoked sausages. If confirmed, the finding that mild phosphate treatment can diminish the force required to shear a casing will be of interest to the sausage industry because the toughness of certain hog casings is considered a problem.     

肠衣制备及其对香肠品质的影响研究进展

香肠是肉制品的典型代表, 且因其独特的风味而深受人们喜爱。随着生活水平的提高, 人们对健康饮食有了更高的要求, 给提高香肠品质和安全性方面的研究带来了更大的挑战。肠衣作为香肠的包装材料, 对维持香肠品质和延长其货架期具有重要作用, 是香肠必不可少的一部分。近年来, 肠衣对香肠加工和贮藏过程中的感官品质、理化指标、风味品质和安全性等方面的影响, 已成为研究热点。本文对肠衣的分类以及肠衣对香肠的品质和安全性的影响进行了综述, 着重考察了肠衣对香肠的色泽、风味品质、pH、生物胺含量、多环芳烃含量、脂肪氧化和微生物方面的影响, 为香肠加工过程中肠衣的选择, 以及香肠品质改善和安全性的提高提供理论依据。     

Characteristics of sausage as prepared with alginate and alginate casings

Fresh buffalo sausage was prepared with 3 % sodium alginate, 0.5 % sodium pyrophosphate or 3 % alginate + 0.5 % sodium pyrophosphate and stuffed in natural mutton casing or alginate casing. All samples were stored at +4 °C and analysed. Addition of 3 % alginate was more effective in protection of sausages from drying, increased markedly the water holding capacity (WHC), increased considerably the cooking yield of sausage and plasticity when compared with 0.5% pyrophosphate samples. During storage at +4 °C the WHC of control and pyrophosphate sausages decreased while that of 3 % alginate samples was almost constant. Alginate casings lowered the rate of moisture loss during storage; in this case addition of pyrophosphate or alginate in the sausage emulsion seemed to be unnecessary. Alginate as used in the sausage emulsion did not raise the rate of total volatile nitrogen (T.V.N.) and thiobarbituric acid value (TBA value) increase during storage of sausage, while pyrophosphate reduced the rate of T.V.N. and TBA value increases. Incorporation of 0.5% pyrophosphate with 3% alginate was useful only for the decrease of T.V.N. and TBA value during storage.     

Effects of pork/beef levels and various casings on quality properties of semi-dried jerky

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pork/beef levels and the casings on the quality properties of semi-dried jerky. The pork/beef levels in the four test formulations were as follows: T-1 (pork: beef = 100:0), T-2 (95:5), T-3 (90:10), and T-4 (80:20). After tumbling for 30 min with curing solution, the cured meats were stuffed into natural sheep casings, collagen casings, or cellulose casings, and then dried. The restructured jerky with cellulose casing had the lowest water content and the highest protein content, with no significant differences between various formulations. There were no significant differences among all formulations with regard to pH and total microbial counts, and jerky with cellulose casing had the lowest value of water activity. The processing yields of jerky made from the T-3 formulation were not significantly different with the various casings. The shear force of jerky with cellulose casing was lower than with other casings, and the metmyoglobin contents were more than 85% in all formulations. With regard to sensory properties, jerky made with the T-3 formulation and cellulose casings rated most favorable in evaluations than other treatments.     

VALIDATION OF HEATING CONDITIONS IN PRODUCTION OF DIRECT ACIDIFIED BEEF SUMMER SAUSAGE FOR ELIMINATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7

The effectiveness of a typical production process for eliminating Escherichia coli O157:H7 in directly acidified all‐beef summer sausage was evaluated for formulations of different fat contents (approximately 8 and 17%) and types of direct acidulant (encapsulated citric or lactic acid). Raw batter inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 to an initial level of ca. 7.4 log cfu/g was stuffed into 64‐mm casings and processed according to a thermal processing schedule used by a small commercial processor for directly acidified summer sausage products (maximum internal product temperature of 70C, followed by cold showering). For all‐beef summer sausage, log reductions ranged from 5.3 to 5.5 cfu/g when product reached 64.4C (148F) internal temperature (IT) and 70C (158F) IT, and from 6.3 to 6.5 log cfu/g reductions when product reached 37.8C (100F) IT after thermal processing and cold showering. No differences in E. coli O157:H7 counts were observed for products with different fat or acid contents.     

Removal of foot-and-mouth disease virus infectivity in salted natural casings by minor adaptation of standardized industrial procedures

Intestines are used for the production of natural casings as edible sausage containers. Derived from animals (pigs and sheep) experimentally infected with FMDV (initial dosage 10(7.3) PFU/ml, strain O(1Kaufbeuren)), these natural casings were treated with sodium chloride or a phosphate salts/sodium chloride mixture and the residual FMDV titres measured. After storage at about 20 degrees C, no remaining infectivity was found after either treatment, whereas casings stored at 4 degrees C still contained infectivity. Storage of salted casings at about 20 degrees C for 30 days is already part of the Standard Operating Procedures (included in HACCP) of the international casing industry and can therefore be considered as a protective measure for the international trade in natural casings.     

Application and assessment of extruded edible casings manufactured from pectin and gelatin/sodium alginate blends for use with breakfast pork sausage

Casings formed from pectin (PN) containing 2.5% and 5% corn oil (CO) and olive oil (OO) and gelatine/sodium alginate blends (GSAB) containing 2.5% CO and OO respectively were used for sausage manufacture. Mechanical properties and water content of casings were assessed prior to application. Following sausage manufacture, product quality and shelf-life evaluation were assessed in terms of sensory attributes, instrumental colour, moisture loss and lipid oxidation. All manufactured casings were of good quality and initially produced intact and stable sausage products. However, with time, shrinkage of products occurred where GSAB casings were used. Sensory analysis of sausages showed that PN casings were more preferred to GSAB casings for sausage manufacture. CIE colour analysis supported sensory evaluation. Water losses from sausages using GSAB casings were lower compared to sausages using PN casings due to GSAB casings having higher ability to trap and absorb water compared to PN casings. Lipid oxidation developed over time for all sausage products, however, sausages manufactured using GSAB casings containing both CO and OO at 2.5% had better oxygen barrier properties compared to sausages manufactured using PN containing the same concentration of emulsified oils. Sausages manufactured using casings containing OO were more prone to lipid oxidation than those using CO. Importantly, sausages manufactured using PN casings containing 5.0% CO were extremely stable to lipid oxidation over a six day storage period and significantly, were <1 on the TBARS numbers scale.     

Evaluation of modified casings and chitosan‐PVA packaging on the physicochemical properties of cooked Sichuan sausages during long‐term storage

The effects of a modified casing and chitosan‐poly‐vinyl alcohol antimicrobial packaging (CP packaging) on sausage colour, texture, microbial spoilage and volatile compounds after 29‐days storage were investigated. Casings were modified by surfactant solution (composed of soy lecithin and soy oil) and lactic acid. For samples stored in CP packaging, there were no significant differences between day 1 and day 29 in relation to sausage hardness and springiness (P > 0.05). Redness increased over storage time regardless of treatments and packagings. Total plate counts of samples packaged by CP packaging were lower than 1 log cfu g^?1 during 29‐days storage. Cyclohexene, 1‐methyl‐4‐(1‐methylethylidene)‐ and α‐copaene were found in samples with control casings and CP packaging after 15‐days storage. The improved characteristics of the natural casing will enable meat processors or manufactures to enhance sausage production with a low sausage burst incidence, while the CP packaging will inhibit the intensive microbial growth.     

Fate of Escherichia coli O157:H7 During Production of Snack Sticks Made from Beef or a Venison/Beef Fat Blend and Directly Acidified with Citric or Lactic Acid

ABSTRACT:  The effectiveness of a typical production process for eliminating Escherichia coli O157:H7 in directly acidified snack sticks made with beef or a venison/beef fat blend was evaluated for formulations of different fat content (10% and 25%) and type of direct acidulant (encapsulated citric or lactic acid). Raw batter inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 to an initial level of approximately 7.1 log CFU/g was stuffed into 21-mm casings and processed according to a thermal-processing schedule typical of those used commercially for directly acidified sausage products (maximum internal product temperature of 68.3 °C, followed by drying and cooling). For both beef and venison/beef fat blend snack sticks, log reductions ranged from 6.2 to > 6.6 CFU/g at the end of processing. Although moderate reductions (1.5 to 2.0 log CFU/g) were achieved as a result of processing to internal product temperatures of 68.3 °C, latter stages of the process (during which products were dried and cooled) factored prominently in the overall lethality of the process, and were essential in achieving the 5-log reduction required by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. The efficacy of the process was not affected ( P ≤ 0.05) by fat content (10% or 25%) or by the type of direct acidulant used (encapsulated citric or lactic acid). Phenol red sorbitol agar was more effective for recovering heat- and acid-injured E. coli O157 than MacConkey sorbitol agar was and, therefore, provided a more conservative estimate of process lethality.     

Fermented Sausage Casings

Casing is part of sausages, giving it shape, size and integrity, but also having a role in volumetric, structural and chemical changes which occur in sausage during different production phases. For fermented sausages, natural or artificial casings can be used. Artificial casings have an advantage from the hygienic point of view, because microbiological contamination is negligible, storage at low temperatures unnecessary, and there is no problem with product spoilage during storage and transport. Today, artificial sausage casings are a better choice for production of large diameter sausages, while they are equivalent to natural casings for production of small diameter sausages.     

The detection of central nervous system tissue on beef carcasses and in comminuted beef.

We report the development and validation of a fluorescent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), which can be used as a rapid and sensitive method to detect CNS tissue in meat products. The fluorometric assay is sensitive to 0.2 ng GFAP and has an intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) of 2.0% and an interassay CV of 14.1%. Bovine spinal cord and brain demonstrate dose-response curves that are parallel to GFAP standards, whereas peripheral sciatic nerve and cervical ganglia also cross-react at high tissue levels. The use of another central nervous system marker, syntaxin 1-B, was not effective for neural tissue detection. Less than 1.0 ng GFAP per mg tissue was found on most beef subprimals and advanced meat recovery (AMR) product. Occasional samples contained higher levels of GFAP, probably because of contamination by the carcass-splitting saw, incomplete removal of the spinal cord, or a chance sampling of a major nerve. Further reduction of CNS content was facilitated by removal of the cervical vertebrae and the spinal canal prior to processing beef chuck bones through AMR equipment. The presence of GFAP was very low (0.037 ng/mg) in beef patties collected from major processors throughout the USA. The presence of normal sausage ingredients or heating the product to 80 degrees C for 60 min did not affect the detection of GFAP. Heating the product to 115 degrees C for 100 min eliminated the detectability of GFAP.     

发酵剂对发酵香肠挥发性风味物质形成的作用及影响机制研究进展

发酵香肠是指将搅碎的猪肉（或牛、羊肉等）、动物脂肪、盐、糖、发酵剂和香辛料等混合后灌进肠衣,经过微生物发酵而成的香肠制品。因其具有独特的风味和较高的营养价值,深受国内外消费者的青睐。风味作为发酵香肠的重要品质属性之一,其形成与发展与发酵过程中微生物群落的代谢活动密切相关。本文对发酵香肠发酵、成熟过程中风味物质的形成和发展以及与微生物代谢相关的反应进行了概述,总结了几种主要微生物对发酵香肠风味品质形成的作用及影响机制,并对其未来研究进行展望,以期为发酵香肠风味品质的研究提供参考。     

Effect of salt and sodium nitrite on growth and enterotoxin production of Staphylococcus aureus during the production of air-dried fresh pork sausage

Staphylococcus aureus contamination and enterotoxin production is a potential food safety hazard during the drying step of production of air-dried fresh country sausage. The growth characteristics and enterotoxin production of S. aureus during the drying step of this product with and without added sodium nitrite were evaluated. Three strains of S. aureus were grown to stationary phase and inoculated (10(4) CFU/g) into sausage ingredients. Fresh pork sausages were stuffed into natural casings and allowed to dry for 10 days at 21 degrees C with 60% relative humidity (RH). In control sausage (1.76% [wt/wt] salt) with no S. aureus, aerobic plate counts increased by 5.5 log/g during the 10-day drying period, and coliforms increased by 4.8 log/g. The addition of sodium nitrite (154 ppm of nitrite, 2.24% [wt/wt] salt) or increased salt (3.64%, wt/wt) to sausage limited the growth of coliform bacteria (P < 0.05). S. aureus numbers increased approximately 2 log units during the drying step, regardless of additional salt or nitrite. Additional salt or nitrite had no effect on S. aureus growth (P > 0.05). Staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) was not detected in air-dried fresh sausages at any time. Our results suggest that drying of fresh pork sausage under similar parameters listed in this study does not support SE production.     

超高压对天然肠衣力学特性的影响

天然肠衣在不同的应用场合具有不同的力学性能要求,将超高压引入肠衣的加工,可改变其力学特性。本研究选择天然猪肠衣作为原料,通过单因素试验方法分别考察加压水平(100～600MPa)、加压介质温度(20～45℃)和保压时间(5～30min)对肠衣剪切强度和抗拉强度的影响。研究结果表明：加压介质温度20℃时,300～600MPa的压力可显著提高肠衣的剪切强度与抗拉强度(p ＜ 0.05);而加压介质温度45℃时,300MPa 的压力可导致肠衣剪切强度与抗拉强度的显著降低(p ＜ 0.05);300MPa 作用下,5～30min 范围内的保压时间对肠衣剪切强度、抗拉强度均无显著性影响(p ＞ 0.05)。因此,超高压导致肠衣剪切强度与抗拉强度的降低,可改善其食用的质构品质;而超高压提高肠衣强度的作用则可增强其在组织工程中应用的可行性。     

Reduction of Clostridium sporogenes spore outgrowth in natural sausage casings using nisin

Preservation of natural sausage casings using dry salt or saturated brine is regarded as sufficient to inactivate vegetative pathogenic non-spore-forming bacteria present on the casings. Although the outgrowth of bacterial spores is prevented by salt or saturated brine preservation, these spores will remain present and develop into vegetative cells when conditions are more favourable. To prevent subsequent outgrowth additional preservation measures should be implemented. In the experiments described the use of nisin was evaluated to reduce outgrowth of spores in desalinated casings. The bacteriocin nisin was chosen because of its known efficacy against spore-forming bacteria and their spores in various foodstuffs. Clostridium spore suspensions (Clostridium sporogenes, ATCC 3584) were used in two concentrations to inoculate three nisin concentrations (10, 50, 100 μg/mL) in water containing gamma-irradiated casings. Additionally, the binding of nisin to casings, using ¹⁴C-labeled nisin Z and subsequent availability of nisin were evaluated. Results demonstrate that nisin is partly reversibly bound to casings and can reduce the outgrowth of Clostridium spores in the model used by approximately 1 log₁₀ (90%). However, the biological relevance of these results needs to be determined further by conducting industrial trials before any recommendation can be made on the practical implementation of nisin in the preservation of natural sausage casings.