Physicochemical, Textural and Sensory Attributes of Beef Sausage Emulsified with Okra Pectin

Nana Ama  Donkor-Boateng; Jacob Kwaku Agbenorhevi; Simpah Anim-Jnr Antoinette

doi:10.4314/just.v40i3.1389

Nana Ama Donkor-Boateng Department of Hospitality Management, Takoradi Technical University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9991-8556
Prof. Jacob Kwaku Agbenorhevi Department of Food Science and Technology, KNUST-Kumasi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8516-7656
Dr. Antoinette Simpah Anim-Jnr Department of Animal Science, KNUST https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0556-4334

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/just.v40i3.1389

Keywords: Frankfurter, Emulsion-type sausage, Okra pectin, Emulsifier

Abstract

Okra pectin has been found as an emulsifying agent for food systems, including meat products. In this study, the physicochemical, textural, and sensory attributes of Frankfurter sausage emulsified with okra pectin were evaluated. A completely randomized design was used for the formulations of three sausage treatments (T0, T1, and T2). Only okra pectin was varied (T0 = 0%, T1 = 0.5%, and T2 = 1.0%), whereas all other ingredients used for the formulation were kept constant. The results indicated that cooking loss increased with increasing levels of okra pectin whereas pH values were within an acceptable range (6.09-6.15). Moisture, protein, fat, ash, and fibre content varied among the samples studied. Resilience, cohesiveness, and chewiness were not significantly different (p > 0.05) among the samples. Hardness increased with increasing okra pectin concentration but there was no significant difference between T0 and T1 samples. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between T1 and T0 for the appearance (T0 = 7.43, T1 = 6.80), juiciness (T0 = 7.37, T1 = 6.30) and taste (T0 = 7.80, T1 = 6.93), which indicates they were either liked moderately or liked slightly. T2 (which had appearance = 5.47, juiciness = 5.10 and taste = 5.30) was however, significantly different (p < 0.05). T1 (6.77) and T2 (5.43) were liked moderately and liked slightly, respectively for overall acceptability. The present findings suggest that okra pectin at low levels (~ 0.5%) could be used as an emulsifier to produce acceptable sausage.

Author Biographies

Nana Ama Donkor-Boateng, Department of Hospitality Management, Takoradi Technical University

Nana Ama Donkor-Boateng is a Lecturer at Department of Hospitality Management, Takoradi Technical University. She holds BSc in Chemistry from University of Cape Coast, MTech in Catering and Hospitality from University of Education Winneba and MSc in Food Science and Technology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Research areas are food safety, food hygiene, food chemistry and food product development as well sensory evaluation of foods. Her current research is on fortification of porridge with antioxidant.

Prof. Jacob Kwaku Agbenorhevi, Department of Food Science and Technology, KNUST-Kumasi

Jacob K. Agbenorhevi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and
Technology, KNUST-Kumasi. He is a team player and serves as a collaborating scientist and coordinator on a number of projects/research teams. His research areas include Food Chemistry (composition and analysis), Food Biopolymers (polysaccharide/protein systems) and Rheology, Food Product Development and Sensory Evaluation, Food Safety, Nutrition and Health. His research interests are focused in the area of polysaccharide characterization, physical chemistry of food systems and nutritional improvement of foods.

Dr. Antoinette Simpah Anim-Jnr, Department of Animal Science, KNUST

Antoinette Simpah Anim-Jnr is a Member of Faculty at the Department of Animal Science, KNUST-Kumasi, Ghana. She holds an MSc in Meat Science and Technology from the University of Bristol, UK, and a PhD in Animal Science from Massey University, New Zealand. Her research focuses on meat as food for humans, specifically the effects of production systems on meat eating quality, composition and shelf life. Her current research interest includes exploiting underutilised non-conventional feed resources as potential sources of nutrients and phytochemicals to improve farm animal nutrition and the quality of meat and meat products She is a member of various professional bodies, including OWSD, WiSTEM-GH and is currently a fellow of the Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa).