Microstructural analysis of cooked sausages with spelt flour

Abstract

In a market economy, it is especially important to produce and provide the population with marketable, high-quality, and safe food products. Given its valuable chemical composition, spelt flour is a promising raw material of vegetable origin intended for improving meat products. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to clarify the features of the structure of boiled sausages and the microstructure of their components that arise during technological processing when spelt flour is added to minced sausage, using histological research methods that substantiate the microstructural analysis of control and experimental samples. The study highlights the results of the examination of microstructural analysis of sausages with the addition of spelt flour, which affects the structure formation of boiled sausages during technological processing. The study presents drawings of sections of control and experimental samples under a microscope. The main components of rubbed minced meat, which contains spelt flour, were examined and analysed to introduce new high-tech solutions that will be competitive not only in the Ukrainian, but also in the European market. Studies of histology specimens of control samples of rubbed minced meat and stained with hematoxylin and eosin identified that minced meat is represented by an inhomogeneous mass of pink-red colour with numerous vacuoles of various sizes and shapes. Sections of the samples show inclusions of spelt flour, which are located in vacuoles very similar to vacuoles with tissue fluid, but unlike the latter, they have a fibrous structure. It is established that through histological studies, which form the basis of microstructural analysis, it is possible to clearly identify all the components of minced meat from which sausages are made. The obtained results allow for expanding the range of sausages, and the use of spelt flour — enriching the finished product with biologically active substances such as dietary fibre, natural antioxidants, micro- and macronutrients