Tomato pomace extract and organic peppermint essential oil as effective sodium nitrite replacement in cooked pork sausages

Abstract

The effect of supercritical fluid extract of tomato pomace (TP) and essential oil of organic peppermint (PM) on pH, color, residual nitrite content, lipid oxidation (TBARS value) and total plate count (TPC) of cooked pork sausages produced with 50 mg/kg of sodium nitrite was investigated. Five batches were produced: T1: 100 mgkg of sodium nitrite; T2: 50 mg of sodium nitrite; T3: 50 mg of sodium nitrite and 0.150 mu L/g TP; T4: 50 mg of sodium nitrite, 0.075 mu L/g TP and 0.075 mu L/g PM; T5: 50 mg of sodium nitrite and 0.150 mu L/g PM. The lowest residual nitrite content and TBARS value were observed in treatment T4. The inclusion of TP increased redness of cooked pork sausages. TPC was the lowest in treatment T5. The results of this study showed that the addition of TP and PM enhanced quality of cooked sausages produced with reduced level of sodium nitrite.