Physico-Chemical and Microbiological Quality of Sausages with Reduced Fat and Sodium Chloride Formulated with Inulin and Oregano Essential Oil

This work aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical and microbiological quality of meat sausages formulated with inulin and oregano essential oil as substitutes for fat and sodium chloride. Two treatments were used: T1 – Control and T2–200 g inulin and 10 g oregano essential oil. The addition of inulin provided an increase (p < 0.05) of carbohydrates and a decrease in the fat content of the meat product. This reduction influenced cooking weight loss and emulsion stability. However, moisture, water activity, and pH were not altered. Regarding the microbiological quality of the sausages, all treatments (T1 and T2) showed counts below <3.0 for Coliforms at 45 ºC and <100 for Coagulase-positive staphylococci and Clostridium perfringens. In addition, both treatments showed absence of Salmonella sp. Therefore, inulin and essential oregano oil can be used in the reformulation of healthier emulsified meat products without significant changes in physicochemical properties and with microbiological safety.