Effect of sorbitol on physicochemical characteristics and quality of fermented sausages during processing

Changes of several main physicochemical characteristics and sensory quality of fermented sausages with different sorbitol levels were evaluated during processing. With sorbitol level 8% or more than 8%, the acid production capacity of starter cultures had no significant difference with the control group, but when sorbitol level was 10% or was more than 10%, the capacity was inhibited in some degree. Awof fermented sausages decreased continually, while the addition of sorbitol could lead to a reduction increase of Awduring fermentation.When the final Awof all the samples was 0.85, the moisture content of sausages with sorbitol was significantly higher than the control group (p<0.05) . The increases in non-protein nitrogen content, PI (Proteolysis Index) value and amino nitrogen content of fermented sausages during processing were observed. When sorbitol level was 4% or was more than 4%, the degree of protein degradation decreased significantly compared with the control group (p<0.05) . Correlation analysis showed that there was significant negative correlation between sorbitol level and Aw, PI value, significant positive correlation between sorbitol level and pH value, respectively.Sensory analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the aroma and flavor score of products with different sorbitol levels, the taste score improved when sorbitol level was or was ≥4%, products with 4%⁸% sorbitol levels had higher overall acceptability.