Ensuring the safety of cooked and smoked sausages of a narrower diameter, in a cellulose casing, by heat treatment

Mladen Rašeta; Ivana Branković-Lazić; Boris Mrdović; Stefan Simunović; Sara Simunović; Jelena Jovanović; Zsolt Becskei

doi:10.18485/meattech.2023.64.2.87

Mladen Rašeta Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Ivana Branković-Lazić Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Boris Mrdović Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Stefan Simunović Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Sara Simunović Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Jelena Jovanović Institute of meat hygiene and technology
Zsolt Becskei University in Belgrade - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2023.64.2.87

Keywords: pasteurization, cooked susages, pv value, heat treatment, food safety

Abstract

The aim of this work is to ensure the safety of finely chopped cooked sausages stuffed in a cellulose casing, diameter 21 mm. Safety is ensured by thermal treatment of the level of pasteurization in a chamber under a defined thermal treatment program. By monitoring the temperature in the product’s thermal center at different control positions in the chamber, temperatures of 75.26℃-77.11°C were determined with a thermocouple. In doing so, the products spent 8-9 minutes at a temperature higher than 70°C, and 18-20 minutes at a temperature higher than 55°C. Considering that it is a small diameter product, the heat intensively penetrates to the thermal center and thus ensures the safety of the product. However, due to the relatively short time of the heat treatment, the pasteurization values (pv) at the control points were in the range of 18.3-26 minutes. Therefore, we conclude that ensuring the safety of products with a narrower diameter is achieved only by controlling the temperature in the thermal center of the product, and not with pv values. Considering that this sausage is a perishable product, it is necessary to provide a proper cold chain (0-4℃) after manufacture so that the product remains suitable for consumption within the period defined in a shelf-life study.