Evaluation of Mao berry ( <i>Antidesma bunius</i> ) extracts as an alternative to sodium nitrite in emulsion sausages: refrigerated storage quality and degradation kinetics

The pomace of Mao berry processing is a byproduct commonly used as animal feed or fertilizer. We aimed to evaluate the potential application of Mao berry extracts as an alternative to sodium nitrite during sausage manufacturing. Extracts from the juice, peel, and seeds were added at two concentrations (1.25% and 2.50% w/w) during the sausage manufacture. Several quality parameters were evaluated, including moisture content, water activity, pH, texture, lipid oxidation, and microbiological growth over 30 d. Samples formulated with and without sodium nitrite were used as controls. The changes in peroxide values and 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values (only for sausages supplemented with peel and seed extracts) were best described by zero-order kinetics, as indicated by higher coefficients of determination (R2: 0.964 to 0.997), and lower chi-square (χ2: 1.14E–07 to 8.74E–02), root mean square error (RMSE: 8.12E–08 to 6.24E–02) and standard error of estimate (SEE: 3.08E–04 to 2.70E–01) compared to first-order kinetics. In contrast, changes in pH, total aerobic count, and TBA values (only for sausages formulated with and without sodium nitrite and supplemented with juice powder) were better described by first-order kinetics with goodness-of-fit parameters including R2, χ2, RMSE and SEE ranging from 0.467 to 0.987, 3.71E–07 to 7.03E–02, 2.65E–07 to 5.02E–02, and 5.56E–04 to 2.42E–01, respectively. Extracts from the Mao berry peel effectively delayed lipid oxidation and microbial growth, with results comparable to those of sodium nitrite. Mao berry extracts shown potential as sodium nitrite replacers, increasing the value of Mao berry byproducts.