Physicochemical and Microbial Quality of Pig Blood Sausages Formulated With Meat and Cereal Fillers as Affected by Packaging Material During Storage

The use of pig blood to develop sausages is a viable option to prevent environment pollution associated with discarded blood and to improve food security. However, the development of pig blood sausages with optimised quality can affect its storage stability and safety. In this study, the storage stability of pig blood sausages formulated with meat and cereal fillers was monitored through changes in chemical (a_w, pH, lipid oxidation) and microbial quality. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and vacuum packaged (VP) sausages were stored at 4°C for up to 14 and 21 days, respectively, while lipid oxidation measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was monitored in PVC-packaged sausages stored at −10°C for 60 days. The a_w remained stable throughout storage in all pig blood sausages, while significant (p < 0.05) decreases in pH were observed. TBARS increased significantly in sausages made with fillers but remained stable in sausages without fillers. Total viable count (TVC) increased by ~2 log CFU/g during storage in all pig blood sausages with the highest TVC (6.28 log CFU/g) occurring in PVC sausages after 14 days. Yeasts and moulds were acceptable in all VP samples throughout storage, while high counts (>6.00 log CFU/g) were observed on PVC samples (B and C) after 14 days. Although increases in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (3–4 log CFU/g in PVC and 3–6 log CFU/g in VP), Pseudomonas spp. (up 4.00 log CFU/g) and S. aureus (up to 2.74 log CFU/g) were observed at the end of storage, the counts in all sausages did not exceed acceptable limits. Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected in all sausage samples. Overall, VP maintained microbiological quality of the blood sausages for up to 21 days, while 7 days was achieved with PVC. In terms of lipid oxidation, the product without fillers can be stable for up to 60 days at frozen storage, while 30 days is suggested for sausages made with cereal fillers.