Abstract
The quality changes of hams and sausages in refrigerated storage were investigated. Seven types of hams and six types of sausages produced in Korea were collected from markets and stored at 1$0^{\circ}C$ according to the Food Code of Korea, and then chemical, microbiological, textural and sensory characteristics were evaluated at 30, 40 and 50 days. The proximal analysis showed considerable variation in fat with less variation in moisture and protein. The pH values of hams and sausages slightly changed with no consistent difference. Water activity values of all samples except one type of sausage were consistent over time in refrigerated storage. No purge losses of hams were observed except two types of samples in the intial stage. Several types of sausages showed purge losses with no consistency and one type of sausage showed consistent purge losses (0.44~11.29%) during the storage. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) content of hams and sausages was still within 20 mg% (Standard and Specification of Korea) on the 50th day, although the VBN of all samples significantly increased over time (p<0.05). The thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of hams and sausages were well below 1.0 during the storage, although the TBA values of all samples significantly increased (p<0.05). However it was noticed that one type of ham and two types of sausages showed TBA values of 0.945, 0.928 and 0.978, respectively. All the standard plate counts (SPCs) of hams during the storage period showed a level below 30 CFU/g except one type of sample with 103 CFU/g at 50 days. All the SPCs of sausages showed a level below 50 CFU/g except one type of sample with 102 CFU/g and two types of samples with 104 CFU/g on the 50th day. Coliform groups were not counted in all samples during the storage. Instrumental texture analysis showed that springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess and adhesiveness slightly changed with no consistent difference. The hardness of the hams showed a decreasing tendency, and the hardness of the sausages an increasing tendency with no significant difference. Sensory evaluation for color, flavor, taste, texture and overall acceptability showed decreasing tendencies over time (p<0.05). The scores of the five sensory characteristics maintained the medium level of quality at the termination of the experiment. Although the results indicated that the ham and sausage samples were acceptable after the 50 days' storage at 1$0^{\circ}C$, the shelf-life of the samples should be determined considering the rapid growth of bacteria and the high TBA values at 50 days.
