Effect of phenols extracted from a by-product of the oil mill on the shelf-life of raw and cooked fresh pork sausages in the absence of chemical additives

Replacing chemical additives in meat preparations with natural compounds is a matter of great interest today, both to consumers and to the food sector. The effect of an extract rich in phenols obtained from olive vegetation water (an agricultural by-product) on the pH, weight loss after cooking, diacylglycerols (DAGs), peroxide value (POV), thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), and cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) of raw and cooked fresh pork sausages prepared without chemical additives was evaluated before and after aerobic storage at 2 ± 2 °C for 14 d. Adding the extract at concentrations of 0.075 and 0.15 g/100 g resulted in a decrease in pH, DAGs, POV, TBARS and COPs; notably, the COPs levels were 4- and 17-fold lower in raw and cooked sausages, respectively. Sensory analysis revealed significant differences between control samples and those enriched with the extract, but the enriched samples were never considered unpleasant by the panellists. Storing the raw sausages for 14 d and subsequently cooking them led to 58% and 49% decreases in phenols, respectively. The purified phenols from olive oil wastewater proved to be an effective antioxidant, thus demonstrating themselves to be a potential ingredient to ensure the quality and safety of meat preparations.