59 th International Congress of Meat Science and Technology, 18-23 rd August 2013, Izmir, Turkey EVALUATION OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF TRADITIONAL (VILLAGE) STYLE GREEK SAUSAGES Konstantinos Konstandinidis 1, 2 , Eleni Kasapidou 2 , Alexander Govaris 3 and Paraskevi Mitlianga 2* 1 M.Sc. in Applied Public Health and Environmental Hygiene with focus in Food and Water Quality and Safety, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Greece 2 Department of Agricultural Products Marketing and Quality Control, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Technological Educational Institute of West Macedonia, Florina, Greece 3 Laboratory of Hygiene of Foods of Animal Origin, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Karditsa, Greece Abstract – The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition and nutritional characteristics of traditional Greek sausages produced in butcher shops. A second aim was to compare the results with published data to evaluate compliance with the food legislation. Sausages (n=25) were instrumentally assessed for moisture, ash, protein, fat, sodium chloride (salt) and nitrite content, and lipid oxidation levels. The average moisture, ash, protein, fat, salt and nitrite content was 49.60 %, 2.75 %, 14.14 %, 31.74 %, 2.08 % and 4.66 ppm respectively. Average lipid oxidation, expressed as TBARS, was 0.935 mg malonaldehyde/kg sample. There were wide differences in the values of the examined characteristics. Chemical and nutritional evaluation showed great variability in product formulation but better compliance (or adherence) to food legislation and improved nutritional quality in relation to the guidelines and the recommendations for healthy food consumption. Key Words – Chemical composition, Greek traditional sausages, Health risks, Nutritional value I. INTRODUCTION Traditional (village) style Greek sausages are very popular and widely consumed products in Greece. In the past, sausages were produced at home according to local recipes whereas nowadays, they are produced either in butcher’s shops or in sausage manufacturing companies. Pork meat and fat are coarsely chopped and thoroughly mixed with salt, pepper and other seasonings. The sausage batter is stuffed in natural casings and the end product is kept under refrigerated storage until consumption. According to the Greek Food Legislation [1], traditional sausages are characterized as fresh (non cooked sausages), manufactured only from lean meat and fat. The fat content should not be higher than 35%. The addition of salt, phosphates, nitrites, monosodium glutamate (MSG), ascorbic acid/salt and sugars is also allowed but it is not mandatory. Sausages may be subjected to semi-drying or smoking processes, and they should be consumed only after thermal processing (frying, grilling or cooking) [2]. The quality characteristics of traditional sausages sold in northern Greece have been examined in the past [2, 3] and the results have shown great variability in the chemical composition as well as failure to comply with the food legislation in aspects such as fat content and nitrite concentration. Nutritional and health value characteristics of traditional sausages, in relation to public health importance, refer to parameters such fat, salt and nitrites content and to the level of lipid oxidation. The European Food Safety Authority [4] recommends that the total fat intake should be in the range of 20-35% of the total dietary energy intake. Salt consumption should not exceed 5 g/day [5] whereas mean daily salt intakes of populations in Europe range from 8 to 11g) [6]. Increased fat and salt intakes are related to the incidence of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Nitrite is used for curing meat products and it is usually added as potassium or sodium salts. The addition of nitrites in non- heated meat products (calculated as sodium nitrite) is limited to 100 ppm due to the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines [7]. The mean intake