Use of mid-infrared spectroscopy for quality monitoring and the prediction of physicochemical parameters of dry fermented chicken sausages enriched with sesame flour

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the effects of the supplementation of sesame flour in fermented chicken sausages ('S1' containing 800 g kg(-1) chicken fillet, 180 g kg(-1) veal fat and 20 g kg(-1) sesame flour and 'S2' containing 800 g kg(-1) chicken fillet, 160 g kg(-1) veal fat and 40 g kg(-1) sesame flour) compared with control sausages (containing 800 g kg(-1) chicken fillet and 200 g kg(-1) veal fat) on the physico-chemical characteristics, texture, and structure during the fermentation stage. RESULTS The physicochemical parameters of samples belonging to the control, S1, and S2 batches were significantly affected by the addition of sesame flour and the fermentation stage. For instance: (i) the lowest protein content was observed for control samples on day 1 (61.4 +/- 6.52 g kg(-1)) whereas the highest level was noted for S2 samples on day 15 (327.5 +/- 22.2 g kg(-1)), and (ii) an inverse trend was observed for the fat content because the lowest content was observed for samples in the S2 batch on day 1 (129.0 +/- 5.30 g kg(-1)) whereas the highest fat content was noted for samples belonging to control batch on day 15 (332.0 +/- 1.29 g kg(-1)). The application of statistical methods to mid-infrared spectroscopy allowed clear discrimination between control, S1, and S2 batches. The addition of sesame flour in the recipes induced some modification in the secondary structure because beta-turn levels ranged from 39.30 to 34.50, 36.76 to 34.70, and 38.93 to 34.70 for control, S1, and S2 batches, respectively, throughout the fermentation stage. Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed a similar protein profile pattern in the three batches on days 1 and 5, but on day 10 control and S2 batches showed the most intense degradation of myofibrillar proteins. CONCLUSION The results demonstrated that mid-infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometric tools could be used as a rapid screening tool to assess and monitor the quality of dry chicken sausages enriched with sesame flour throughout the fermentation stage. (c) 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of adding sesame flour on the physicochemical characteristics, texture, and structure of fermented chicken sausages. The results showed that the addition of sesame flour affected the protein and fat content of the sausages, and mid-infrared spectroscopy was found to be a useful tool for assessing and monitoring the quality of sesame flour-enriched chicken sausages during the fermentation stage.