Evaluation of physicochemical and textural properties of chicken breast sausages containing various combinations of salt and sodium tripolyphosphate

This study was to investigate the effect of salt alone or in combination with phosphate on physicochemical and textural properties, and chemical interactions of low-fat model sausages. pH, color, expressible moisture (EM), cooking loss (CL), proximate analysis, textural profile analysis and low-vacuum scanning electron microscopy were performed. As salt content increased, color tended to decrease, as did EM and CL parameters, indicating that the ability to retain moisture was improved with increased salt levels (p < 0.05). In addition, textural hardness, gumminess and chewiness all increased with increasing salt (p < 0.05). Sausages with 0.3% salt showed the lowest cohesiveness compared to those with salt levels higher than 0.3% (p < 0.05). Addition of sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) increased pH of sausages. Increasing salt and STPP did not affect lightness (p > 0.05), but did increase redness and yellowness (p < 0.05). The moisture content was higher when the salt and STPP contents were increased (p < 0.05), but no differences in the fat and protein contents (%) were observed (p > 0.05). EM and CL tended to decrease with increasing salt and STPP. In textural properties, the combination of 1.8% salt and 0.3% STPP was the best among other treatment (p < 0.05). Surface microstructure showed a flat and dense structure with increasing salt and STPP. Since the addition of salt and phosphate improved the functionality, textural and physicochemical properties of meat products in this study, meat products will need to be developed in line with consumer’s preference.