Characterization of a sausage assortment made from beef and pork liver: a comparative study

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the influence of the amount of liver introduced into two varieties of liver sausages, pork and beef, on the quality properties of these products. The sausages were made from raw materials from two species (pork and beef) with additions of 25% liver and 50% liver, respectively, resulting in four experimental batches of products: BL25 (sausages with 25% beef liver), BL50 (sausages with 50% beef liver), PL25 (sausages with 25% pork liver), PL50 (sausages with 50% pork liver). Product quality was assessed in terms of chemical composition, instrumental color, pH, and sensory quality. The results showed higher protein contents for batches made with 50% liver, both for pork (19.18%) and beef (19.34%), compared to batches where only 25% liver was added. The same trend was observed for the moisture content; samples made with 50% liver showed higher moisture content compared to those with 25% liver. Increasing the percentage of liver added in the technological process caused a decrease in the lightness (L*) both in the external appearance and cross-sectional aspects of the beef-based batches. In contrast, the increse in liver content led to a rise in the average values for the a* (red-green) coordinate. These two parameters are directly influenced by the percentage of liver in the sausages, through the presence of myoglobin and hemoglobin, which are proteins that contain heme iron.