Effects of High-pressure Processing Technique on the Quality and Shelf Life of Chinese Style Sausages

Abstract

Fresh Chinese-style sausage is a traditional product in Taiwan. Because it is made from fresh meat, the initial total plate count of packed products can be lowered using non-thermal preservation methods. The high pressure processing (HPP) technique (100-1000 MPa) can be applied to sterilize packed products to reduce microbial contamination. This study applied the HPP technique to fresh Chinese-style sausages and evaluated their physicochemical, microbial and sensory characteristics. The results revealed that when the sausages are processed at a pressure greater than 400 MPa, the a value of color increases. Regarding the texture properties, the hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess and chewiness decreases as the pressure rises. Moreover, an increased pressure effectively reduces the initial total plate count. The sensory analysis showed that after HPP, the sausages exhibit significantly high acceptability in texture and overall characteristics. In addition, in a storage treatments conducted at 7 °C, a control group reached 6 log CFU/g in total plate count and swelling was observed after 80 days of treatment. however, sausages that received HPP (at 600 MPa for 10 min) exhibited a significantly lower total plate count of 3 log CFU / g after 90 days of treatment. These results indicate that HPP considerably reduces the initial plate count of the sausages as well as suppresses the growth of the total plate count during the storage period. Therefore, HPP can extend the shelf life of fresh Chinese-style sausages by at least 30%.