Application and assessment of extruded edible casings manufactured from pectin and gelatin/sodium alginate blends for use

with breakfast pork sausage

L. Liu, J.F. Kerry, J.P. Kerry

Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Western Road, Co. Cork, Ireland

Abstract Casings formed from pectin (PN) containing 2.5% and 5% corn oil (CO) and olive oil (OO) and gelatine/sodium alginate blends (GSAB) containing 2.5% CO and OO respectively were used for sausage manufacture. Mechanical properties and water content of casings were assessed prior to application. Following sausage manufacture, product quality and shelf-life evaluation were assessed in terms of sensory attributes, instrumental colour, moisture loss and lipid oxidation. All manufactured casings were of good quality and initially produced intact and stable sausage products. However, with time, shrinkage of products occurred where GSAB casings were used. Sensory analysis of sausages showed that PN casings were more preferred to GSAB casings for sausage manufacture. CIE colour analysis supported sensory evaluation. Water losses from sausages using GSAB casings were lower compared to sausages using PN casings due to GSAB casings having higher ability to trap and absorb water compared to PN casings. Lipid oxidation developed over time for all sausage products, however, sausages manufactured using GSAB casings containing both CO and OO at 2.5% had better oxygen barrier properties compared to sausages manufactured using PN containing the same concentration of emulsiWed oils. Sausages manufactured using casings containing OO were more prone to lipid oxidation than those using CO. Importantly, sausages manufactured using PN casings containing 5.0% CO were extremely stable to lipid oxidation over a six day storage period and signiWcantly, were <1 on the TBARS numbers scale.

Keywords: Extruded edible casing; Pork sausage; Quality attributes; Shelf-life

1. Introduction The principle function of packaging for meat products is to maintain or improve product quality and prolong shelf life. The use of edible/biodegradable packaging for meat applications must be capable of delivering the same function and more than traditional packaging (Miller & Krochta, 1997). Research on the stability of edible/ biodegradable packaging for food application has intensiWed in recent years due to many factors including: increased consumer demand for more natural food systems; growing
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 21 4903798; fax: +353 21 4276318. E-mail address: joe.kerry@ucc.ie (J.P. Kerry).

awareness of properties and safety issues arising from conventional food packaging systems. One such safety issue (associated with BSE and the feeding of meat and bone meal to meat producing animals) lies in the use of animal by-products in the manufacture of food ingredients, a primary example being the use of collagen in the manufacture of edible casings for sausage manufacture. Applications of edible/biodegradable Wlms/coatings on fresh or frozen meat products to preserve or improve quality have been reviewed (Baker, Baldwin, & Nisperos-Carriedo, 1994; Debeaufort, Quezada-Gallo, & Violley, 1998; Gennadios, Hanna, & Kurfh, 1997; Guilbert, Gontard, & Gorris, 1996; Krochta & Mulde-Johnston, 1997). From an industrial point of view, the manufacture of edible sausage

casing is one of the most successful applications of edible packaging to meat products. Production of collagen casings from the regenerated corium layer of food-grade beef hides is a well-established technology and these casings have been widely marketed already (Germadios, McHugh, Weller, & Drochta, 1994; Hood, 1987; Rust, 1987). There are also many large processing plants with high volume lines using co-extrusion technology for collagen casing production (Smits, 1985). However, while production and application of collagen sausage casings are well-established technologies, little has been published on the extruded manufacture of sausage casings using food ingredients, other than collagen. From a review of the scientiWc literature, a number of patents were submitted in relation to the manipulation of sausage casings using diVerent proteins such as wheat gluten, soy protein, peanut protein, corn zein, feather keratin (Mullen, 1971; Schilling & Burchill, 1972) and composite casings of collagen and other ingredients (Lieberman et al., 1967; Shank et al., 1972). Extrusion technology has been widely used to manufacture traditional plastic Wlms (Wolinski, 1967) and certain encapsulated and gel biopolymer products (Lee, Park, & Ha, 1997; Li, Altreuter, & Gentile, 1996). However, only a limited amount of research has been conducted in relation to the manufacture of biodegradable Wlms employing edible ingredients using extrusion technology (Arvanitoyannis, Kolokuris, Nakayama, & Aiba, 1997; Fishman, CoYn, Konstance, & Onwulata, 1997; Otey, WesthoV, & Doane, 1980), In addition, the application of such extruded Wlms has received even less attention, with little or nothing reported on their use for meat products. Research into the manufacture of edible/biodegradable Wlms/casings using a wide range of food ingredients and extrusion technology has recently been reported (Liu, Kerry, & Kerry, 2005). Films/casings with commercial potential were formed from pectin (PN) and gelatin/sodium alginate blends (GSAB) using extrusion technology. In addition, (Liu, Kerry, & Kerry, 2006) reported on the beneWcial eVects of adding food grade oils in ingredient formulations for the successful manufacture of extruded PN and GSAB Wlms/casings. The objective of this study was to assess the potential for using PN and GSAB-based casings in the manufacture of breakfast pork sausages. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Materials

Ltd., Clyaygate house) and Wnest olive oil (Hacienda Don Carlos, San Fernando 21, Seville, Spain) were purchased from a local retail outlet in Cork, Ireland. Lean pork meat and fat were supplied by Dairygold Ltd. (Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, Ireland). Rusk and sausage seasoning were supplied by National Food Ingredients (Dock Road, Co. Limerick, Ireland) and dextrose was obtained from All In All Food Ingredients Ltd. (Park West, Nangor Road, Dublin 12, Ireland). 2.2. Sausage manufacture using experimental casings PN casings emulsiWed with 2.5% and 5% CO and GO and GSAB casings emulsiWed with 2.5% CO and OO were manufactured using extrusion technology (Liu et al., 2005). These casings were stored in a drying room (23 2 C; 50 5% RH) for 3 days and then transferred to a chill room (4 C) for 2 days to attain equilibrium with processing conditions. Lean pork meat (48.5%) and pure pork fat (18.2%) were chopped in a Bowl Chopper (Maschinenfabrik, Seydelmann KG, 7080 Aalen, Brugstallstrabe, Germany) and then minced with water (18.2%), coarse rusk (12.1%), sausage seasoning (3%) and dextrose (monohydrate 090, DE >99.5%) to make evenly mixed sausage meat Wlling. All prepared test casings were stuVed with sausage meat using a sausage Wller (MAINCA, Barcelona, Spain). 2.3. Sensory evaluation of sausage products Sensory properties of sausages were assessed by a taste panel consisting of 10 people on storage days 1 and 6. Attributes assessed, were as follows: fullness, texture and overall acceptability. All panelists were semi-trained for meat product evaluation. Each test parameter was scored on a scale from 1 to 8 (1 representing extremely good and 8 representing extremely poor). 2.4. Water content of casings and sausages Water content (%) of casings was analysed using CEM equipment (CEM Corporation, Matthews, NC, USA) before and after display in a chill room for 2 days. Water content of sausage products was tested using the same method on days 0, 2, 4 and 6. Water loss from sausages was calculated by: (water content on day(n+2) water content on dayn)/water content on day(n+2) 100. 2.5. Assessment of sausage colour

Sodium alginate (Manucol DM) was obtained from International Specialty Products HQ, Surrey, UK; Gelatin (bloom 264) was provided by Klippan, Sweden; High methoxy pectin was purchased from CP Kelco (Lille Skensved, Denmark). Lecithin was supplied by the Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO, USA) and glycerin BP was supplied by Cahill May Roberts LTD (Pharmapark, chapelizod, Dublin, Ireland). Com oil (CO-Mazola, Bestfoods UK

CIE L (lightness), a (redness) and b (yellowness) values of all sausages were tested using a Minolta Colorimeter CR300 (Minota Camera Co. Ltd., 3-13, 2-Chome, Azuchi-machi, chuo-ku, Osaka 541, Japan) on days 0, 2, 4 and 6. Photographs of sausages taken on the sixth day of refrigerated storage (4 C) were used to support colour and sensory determinations.

2.6. Determination of lipid oxidation of sausage Lipid oxidations in pork sausages were assessed using the 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) distillation method (Targladis, Watts, Younathan, & Duggan, 1960) with modiWcation (Ke, Ackman, Linke, & Nash, 1977). TBA reactive substances (TBARS) were expressed as mg malonaldehyde per kg sample. Analyses were conducted on days 0, 2, 4 and 6. 2.7. Statistical analysis One-way analysis of variance using SPSS software (version 11.0, SPSS Ireland, Dublin 8) was performed on all experimental data sets. Post-hoc multiple comparisons were determined by least signiWcant diVerence (LSD). All comparisons were made at a 5% level of signiWcance. Mean values were determined using triplicate samples. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Thickness and water values for sausage casings Mean thickness values for all experimental casings (GSAB and PN with CO and OO) varied from 0.50 mm to 0.51 mm with the exception of 0.57 mm for PN casing containing 5% CO (Table 1). Before conditioning in chill, there was no signiWcant diVerence in the water content between any two experimental casings, but GSAB casings had slightly higher values compared to PN casings. After conditioning in chill, casings formed from GSAB had higher (p < 0.05) water content compared to casings formed from PN. There was no signiWcant diVerence determined between similar casing types using diVerent oil additions. Other physical properties associated with these biopolymer Wlms,
Table 1 Mean (SD) of physical properties of experimental casings Properties

namely: tensile strength, elongation percentage and puncture resistance were reported previously (Liu et al., 2006). 3.2. Water loss from sausages during chilled storage Water contents of sausage meat using all casing types decreased with time (Table 2) and sample surfaces became drier. The greatest (p < 0.05) water loss occurred during the Wrst two storage days. Subsequent losses slowed from day 2 to 6. The water contents of all sausage treatments between days 0 to 2 were signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent from each other. All sausage treatments also had signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent water contents between days 2 to 4, and days 4 to 6 with the exceptions of sausage meat held in PN casing with 2.5% CO, GSAB casing with 2.5% CO and PN casing with 5% OO. Generally, from days 2 to 6, sausage meat stuVed into GSAB casings had higher water content compared to sausage meat held in PN casings. Sausage meat held in PN casings emulsiWed with CO had a higher water content compared to that held in PN casings emulsiWed with OO. GSAB casing containing both CO and OO were better at maintaining water in sausage meat compared to PN casings. This result seems contrary to the results shown in Table 1 where GSAB casings were characteristically more prone to absorb water. However, the hygroscopic nature of GSAB sausage casings resulted in such biomaterial Wlms absorbing moisture from the external environment, as well as that from the internal environment, thereby functioning to bind and hold water within the product system. In essence, the water absorbing and holding properties of GSAB casings stuVed with sausage meat slowed water loss more eVectively when compared to PN casings. Sausages formed using PN casings containing OO had lower water content compared to those formed using PN casings con-

PN with 2.5% CO PN with 5% CO GSAB with 2.5% CO PN with 2.5% OO PN with 5% OO GSAB with 2.5% OO 0.57 0.03a 5.9 0.30bcde 27.9 0.03cd 0.51 0.02b 7.5 0.70ab 33.9 1.80a 0.52 0.02b 6.3 0.10abcd 28.1 1.38c 0.51 0.02b 5.0 0.80def 27.6 0.10cdef 0.50 0.01bc 8.3 0.24a 32.7 0.95ab

Thickness (mm) 0.51 0.02b Water content before display (%) 7.4 1.36abc Water content after display (%) 27.8 0.25cde

Mean values within the same row with diVerent letters are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent. Table 2 Mean (SD) of water content and weight loss from sausages during chilled storage Test Water content (%) Day 0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 PN with 2.5% CO 56.0 0.55 39.1 0.12b56 38.5 1.14bc234 35.5 0.20d4 0 17.2 0.16a1 1.3 0.86b3456 3.0 0.89ab1
a

PN with 5% CO 56.0 0.55 42.1 0.26b2 39.6 0.30c123 37.4 0.03d123 0 14.3 0.03a2345 2.5 0.34b234 2.2 0.39ab1234
a

PN with 2.5% OO 56.0 0.55 41.0 0.64b234 36.4 0.88c5 33.8 0.04d456 0 15.3 1.23a123 4.6 0.85b12 2.6 0.19bc12
a

PN with 5% OO 56.0 0.55 40.3 0.09b45 35.2 0.46c56 35.0 0.65d45 0 16.1 0.45a12 5.1 0.04b1 0.2 0.04c123456
a

GSAB with 25% CO 56.0 0.55 41.8 0.80b23 40.1 0.41bc12 37.7 0.07d12 0 14.6 1.46a234 1.7 0.71b345 2.4 0.49bc123
a

GSAB with CO 56.0 0.55a 43.7 0.04b1 40.6 0.46c1 37.5 0.72d1 0 12.6 0.35a456 3.1 0.84b123 2.1 0.81bc12345

Weight loss (%)

Mean values within the same column with diVerent letters are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent. Mean values within the same row with diVerent numbers are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent.

taining CO, suggesting that CO possesses good water barrier or retention properties when emulsiWed with PN. From extensive review of the scientiWc literature, little exists that is directly comparable to the research data presented here, particularly in relation to the application of biopolymer Wlms to meat products and more speciWcally, as natural casings for sausage manufacture. While numerous reports exist outlining the water barrier properties associated with edible or biodegradable Wlms (Arvanitoyannis et al., 1997), little information exists on the eVectiveness of such Wlms during meat application studies (Gennadios et al., 1997). Interestingly, some information exists on the eVectiveness of using biopolymer coating systems with the addition of oil to prevent moisture loss from stored meat products. Bauer, Neuser, and Piukalla (1968) reported that frozen meats coated with vegetable oil-in water emulsions prevented substantial dehydration compared to controls. Similar to that reported in this study, Landmann, Lovergren, and Feuge (1960) found that diVerent lipids have varying capacities to function as eVective moisture barriers. 3.3. Colour of sausages during chilled storage Colour changes in sausages during chilled storage are shown in Table 3. CIE L values for all sausage treatments decreased with storage time. CIE L values for all sausage treatments on day 0 showed no signiWcant diVerence with the exception of GSAB casing with 2.5% OO having higher (p < 0.05) values compared to all other treatments and PN casing with 5% CO having higher (p < 0.05) values compared to all other PN casings. On days 2 and 4, GSAB casing with 2.5% OO had higher (p < 0.05) CIE L values compared to all other sausage treatments. On day 6, GSAB encased sausages had higher (p < 0.05) values compared to those which were held in PN casings containing OO. Sausages formed using PN casings with CO also had higher (p < 0.05) CTE L values compared to sausages formed using PN casings with OO. During storage, sausage formed using GSAB casing and containing CO had a higher L

values on day 6 compared to those values determined on day 2 and 4. This may be due to the presence of sausage casing surface moisture which had a propensity to accumulate on GSAB casings as storage time increased. Decreasing CIE L values for sausages during storage is attributable to increased evaporation from the product, thereby reducing lights diVusion. Lee, Choi & Yoon (2003) reported similar results when active packaging systems were applied to pork loin. In general, CIE a values for sausages decreased slightly during storage. On day 0, only sausages formed using GSAB casing with 2.5% CO initially had lower (p < 0,05) a values compared to all other sausage treatments. On day 2, sausages formed using GSAB casing with OO and PN casing with 5% CO had higher (p < 0.05) a values compared to other sausages. On days 4 and 6 all sausages manufactured using PN casings had higher a values compared to sausages using GSAB casings, indicating that the use of GSAB casings have negative eVect on redness values associated with formed sausage products. PN casing with 5% CO produced sausage that had higher (p < 0.05) CIE a values compared to those manufactured using PN casing with 5% OO. In general, CIE a values decreased dramatically for most sausage treatments during the Wrst 2 days of storage. The decrease in surface redness values for sausages was probably due to the loss of water from these products, thereby condensing myoglobin and other pigments present in sausage meat, leading to a paler and less red product surface. CIE b values decreased for all sausage treatments during storage. Sausages formed using GSAB casings initially had higher (p < 0.05) CIE b values compared to sausages encased in PN casings. Following storage, sausages formed using PN casing with 5% CO had similar b value to sausages encased in GSAB casings. CIE b values determined for sausages were aVected by the natural yellowness associated with diVerent casing types; GSAB casings having a more yellow hue than PN casings. In addition, yellowness intensity associated with various sausage treatments was

Table 3 Mean (SD) of colour of sausages with diVerent casings emulsiWed with CO and OO CIE colour Day PN with 2.5% CO L value 0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 61.553 0.26a345 60.812 0.45ab234 59.490 0.86abc23 58.145 2.38cd1234 9.922 0.69a123 8.912 0.79b345 8.571 0.75c123 8.010 0.44d123 11.778 0.71abc456 11.167 1.18ab45 11. 271 1.08a3 11.023 0.86abcd2345 PN with 5% CO 63.167 0.67a2 60.854 1.47b23 60.182 0.67bc12 60.083 1.24bcd123 9.845 10.62ab1234 10.444 0.76a1 9.567 0.47bc1 9.132 0.74bcd1 12.089 0.18ab34 12.470 1.06a123 11.822 0.93abc34 11.690 0.87abcd12 PN with 2.5% OO 62.021 0.77a234 60.843 0.93ab2 57.121 1.78bc23456 56.991 2.88cd345 9.578 0.25a12345 9.456 0.53ab123 8.473 0.66c234 8.424 0.81cd12 11.843 0.61a45 11.374 0.64ab34 10.682 0.40bcd3456 11.233 0.77abc1234 PN with 5% OO 61.454 0.31a3456 60.221 0.46ab2345 57.714 1.52bc234 55.033 2.62cd456 10.3781 0.39a1 9.045 0.57b34 8.921 0.33bc12 7.853 0.87d234 12.774 0.29a3 10.802 0.43b456 10.703 0.49bc345 142 0.57bcd3456 GSAB with 2.5% CO 62.474 1.16a23 58.613 1.15abc56 57.678 1.17abcd2345 61.424 1.91ab12 GSAB with 2.5% OO 64.633 0.18a1 63.443 1.30ab1 62.856 4.18abc1 61.423 3.74abcd1

a value

8.503 0.34a6 10.045 0.15b12 8.089 1.39ab456 11.093 0.43a12 abc23456 7.989 1.23 8.302 0.39c2345 6.81 111.34abcd345 6.789 0.64d3456 14.474 0.40a12 13.611 0.35ab1 12.532 0.78abc12 12.356 1.28abcd1 14.931 0.66a1 13.367 0.60ab12 13.114 0.93abc1 11.261 0.36abcd123

b value

Mean values within the same column with diVerent letters are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent. Mean values within the same row with diVerent numbers are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent.

aVected by the water loss. The eVect of water loss on yellowness intensity was similar to the trend observed for redness value. Generally, GSAB casings demonstrated a greater ability to enhance product brightness but were poor in maintaining product redness while the reverse was true for PN casings. Casings manufactured using CO had more desirable colour attributes than those using OO. Maintaining meat colour is one of the most important functions associated with potential usage of edible packaging (Gennadios et al., 1997). Packaging application using gelatin has been reported to delay colour changes in various meat samples (Miller and Krochta, 1997; Villegas, OConnor, Kerry, Buckley & Lynch, 1999a, 1999b). 3.4. Lipid oxidation in sausages during storage Lipid oxidation developed in all sausage treatments as storage time increased, however, the eVect varied with sausage treatments (Table 4). Sausages held in GSAB casings had lower (p < 0,05) TBARS compared to those held in PN casings. Sausage meat held in casings containing OO had higher (p < 0.05) TBARS compared to the sausage meat held in casings containing CO. In addition, the higher the

oil concentrations used in PN casings, the lower the TBARS determined in sausage products (see Table 4). GSAB casing containing 2.5% CO was the best casing with respect to impeding lipid oxidation. Sausages formed using PN casings containing 5% CO with signiWcant diVerences in lipid oxidation levels between them only occurred on day 2 of refrigerated storage. More importantly, TBARS for both of these sausage treatment groups remained well below a value at which certain oV-Xavours can be detected in processed meat products by trained sensory evaluation. Previously, meat coatings consisting of alginate (Wanstdts, Seideman, Donnely, & Quenzer, 1981) and gelatin coatings were reported (Klose et al., 1952; Villegas et al., 1999a, 1999b) to be eVective in protecting several meat products from lipid oxidation. In this study, both GSAB and PN casings were also shown to impede lipid oxidation in sausage products following technical manipulation of casings prior to, during and following the extrusion process. The eVect of oils (CO and OO) employed in experimental casings on lipid oxidation of sausages as demonstrated by this study is also supported by research conducted by Skandamis and Nychas (2002) which showed that edible oil could be used to extend the shelf life of fresh meat.

Table 4 Mean (SD) of lipid oxidation (TBARS) of sausages with diVerent casings emulsiWed with CO and OO Casings TBARS of sausages with diVerent casings Day 0 PN with 2.5% CO PN with 5% CO GSAB with 2.5% CO PN with 2.5% OO PN with 5% OO GSAB with 2.5% OO 0.216 0.0601 0.216 0.0601 0.216 0.0601 0.216 0.0601 0.216 0.0601 0.216 0.0601 Day 2 0.586 0.066c2 0.582 0.114cd2 0.366 0.118f2 0.794 0.148a2 0.783 0.077ab2 0.494 0.049e12 Day 4 0.701 0.047cd3 0.585 0.138e23 0.414 0.186ef23 1.203 0.341a23 0.923 0.604ab23 0.803 0.412bc3 Day 6 0.879 0.077c4 0.633 0.181e234 0.505 0.264ef234 1.365 0.697a34 1.345 0.446ab34 0.872 0.395cd34

Mean values within the same column with diVerent letters are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent. Mean values within the same row with diVerent numbers are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent. Table 5 Mean (SD) of sensory evaluation of sausages formed from extruded PN and GSAB casings emulsiWed with CO and OO Sensory attributes Colour Day 0 Day 6 Fullness Day 0 Day 6 Texture Day 0 Day 6 Overall acceptance Day 0 Day 6 PN with 2.5% CO 1.7 0.12a45 2.5 0.21ab345 2.1 0.12a12345 0.9 0.11b456 2.1 0.15a12345 3.2 0.21ab1 1.6 0.11a45 2.2 0.11ab456 PN with 5% CO 1.6 0.14a456 2.3 0.20ab456 2.0 0.13a123456 1.2 0.12ab345 2.0 0.16a123456 2.5 0.17ab12345 1.3 0.12ab456 2.2 0.12b45 PN with 2.5% OO 1.7 0.11a4 2.7 0.19b3 2.6 0.15a123 1.7 0.12ab34 2.6 0.16a123 21 0.14ab56 2.4 0.19a23 2.7 0.18ab34 PN with 5% OO 3.0 0.20a123 2.7 0.20ab34 2.2 0.14a1234 2.0 0.13ab3 2.2 0.14a1234 3.1 0.20ab12 1.8 0.14a34 3.4 0.20b3 GSAB with 2.5% CO 3.3 0.18a12 3.6 0.21ab1 2.8 0.20a12 4.0 0.25b12 2.8 0.23a12 2.5 0.15ab1234 3.2 0.20a12 4.6 0.23b1 GSAB with 2.5% OO 3.7 0. 18a1 3.5 0.20ab12 3.0 0.21a1 4.0 0.22ab1 3.0 0.20a1 3.1 0.19ab123 3.6 0.21a1 4.3 0.22ab12

Mean values within the same column with diVerent letters are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent. Mean values within the same row with diVerent numbers are signiWcantly (p < 0.05) diVerent.

3.5. Sensory assessment of sausages during chilled storage Acceptable sausage products were obtained using casings formed from PN containing 2.5% and 5% CO and OO and casings formed from GSAB containing 2.5% CO and OO. Casing integrities were maintained and no breakage resulting from water absorption occurred, even after 6 days storage in a chill (4 C) (Fig. 1), This Wnding was a complete reversal to that observed in our laboratory when casings which were manufactured without oils were assessed (Liu et al., 2005). Casings formed from PN and GSAB containing CO and OO were shown to have potential for sausage manufacture in terms of their strength and integrity. Sausages formed using PN casing containing OO appeared shrank slightly compared to sausages formed using PN casing containing CO. This observation coincided with a higher water content for sausage meat held in PN casing with CO compared to that of sausage meat held in PN casing with OO. During storage, sausage meat held in casings formed from GSAB shrank greatly. Sensory evaluation of visual colour and fullness, texture and overall acceptability of sausages with diVerent casings were carried out by a sensory panel both before and after storage (Table 5). On both days 0 and 6, sausages formed using GSAB casings had higher colour scores and therefore, poor colour attributes compared to sausages held in PN casings. Sausages formed with PN emulsiWed with OO had also higher colour scores compared to sausages formed using PN casings containing CO. Sausages formed using PN casings emulsiWed with CO were deemed to be the most desirable from a sensorial colour perspective and these Wndings also concurred with instrumental colour analysis reported earlier. Fullness evaluation on day 0 determined no signiWcant diVerence between sausage types. On day 6 of storage, sausages manufactured using PN casings emulsiWed with CO were the most preferred (p < 0.05) sausages followed by those manufactured using PN casings emulsiWed with OO and Wnally those formed using GSAB casings. As described previously, water contents of sausage meat held in GSAB casings were generally higher compared to those held in PN casings. In theory, this should result in greater fullness sau-

sage attributes when held in GSAB casings. However, GSAB casings had greater expansion properties after absorbing water compared to PN casings, which led to the less preferred sausage in relation to product fullness. Sensory evaluation of texture on day 0 determined no signiWcant diVerences between sausage types. On day 6 of storage, texture scores determined that sausages manufactured with PN casings were the most preferred. In general, sausage texture ranked well for all sausage types assessed and textural diVerences determined between each sausage group may again have reXected diVerences between sausages based on water content as described previously. Sensory evaluation of overall acceptability demonstrated that sausages manufactured using PN casings emulsiWed with CO were the most preferred by panelists, followed by those manufactured using PN emulsiWed with OO and Wnally those formed using GSAB casings. In general, sausages formed using PN casings emulsiWed with CO were the most desirable products assessed and this was particularly true of sensory analysis. In fact, when all experimental sausage groups were assessed against a commercial control, sensory panelists marginally preferred the commercial control over sausages manufactured using PN casings emulsiWed with CO (data not shown). While a clear potential exists to produce edible biopolymer Wlms and casings as demonstrated in this study, further work is required to improve processing procedures and product variables such as consistency, thickness and casing/Wlm permeability with respect to both moisture and gases. Acknowledgement This research was part funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture under the National Development Plan through the FIRM Research Programme. References
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Fig. 1. Photographs of sausages formed using PN casings with 2.5% CO (A), 5% CO (B), 2.5% OO (C), 5% OO (D), GSAB casings with 2.5% CO (E) and 2.5% OO (F) after storage in chill room for 6 days.

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