• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2009

Product quality and shelf-life effect of sodium lactate (SL) in combined with chitosans with various molecular weights (MW) in low-fat sausages (LFSs) stored at $10^{\circ}C$ were evaluated. LFSs with SL and chitosans had 75-76% moisture, 1-2% fat, and 15.8-17.1% protein with a pH range of 6.3-6.6. Water holding capacity was decreased, but most textural properties were increased with the addition of chitosan with MW of 30-40 kDa. Hunter a (redness) values were also increased with the addition of sodium lactate and chitosans in combination with laccaic acid at the level of 0.05%, resulting in similar Hunter a value of 150 ppm of sodium nitrite. The combination of SL and chitosans slightly extended the shelf-life of LFSs approximately 3-6 days at $10^{\circ}C$, resulting in inhibition the growth of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7, as compared to the control. However, the inhibition of microbial growth at $10^{\circ}C$ was not as strong as that at $4^{\circ}C$. Thus, the storage temperature should be as low ($<4^{\circ}C$) as possible to have a maximum antimicrobial activity in LFS containing SL and various chitosans.