Oxidative stability of fermented goat meat sausage with different levels of natural antioxidant Renata Tieko Nassu a, *, Lireny Aparecida Guaraldo Gonc¸alves b , Maria Aparecida Azevedo Pereira da Silva b , Frederico Jose´ Beserra c a Embrapa Agroindu ´stria Tropical. R. Dra. Sara Mesquita, 2270-Pici, Fortaleza-CE, CEP 60511-110, Brazil b Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos. Caixa Postal 6091, CEP 13081-970, Campinas–SP, Brazil c Dep. de Tecnologia de Alimentos (DTA), Universidade Federal do Ceara ´ (UFC), Campus do Pici, Av. Mister Hull, 2977, Alagadic ¸o, Caixa Postal 12.168, CEP 60356-000, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil Received 9 September 2001; received in revised form 24 January 2002; accepted 24 January 2002 Abstract Goat meat was used for fermented sausage processing. The oxidative stability of the fermented goat meat sausage, containing two different levels of natural antioxidant (rosemary—Rosmarinus officinalis), at room temperature, was evaluated by way of peri- odical analyses for thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS), overall acceptance and descriptive sensory profile, for 90 days. The initial values for TBARS indicated that lipid oxidation occurred during the processing of the fermented sausages. Significant cor- relations were not found between the TBARS values and the sensory analysis, except for an oxidized aroma in the control sample and the overall acceptance after 75 days of storage. Formulations containing 0.05% rosemary showed the best characteristics in relation to oxidative stability, with the lowest initial values for TBARS, the greatest sum for the overall acceptance sensory, highest values for red color and lowest scores for oxidized aroma and flavor, when compared with the sample containing 0.025% rosemary. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Goat meat; Fermented sausage; Oxidation; Natural antioxidant; Rosemary 1. Introduction Goat production in north eastern Brazil is an eco- nomically important activity. The best cuts are sold at high prices, while the remaining cuts have low consumer acceptability and no commercial value. The manu- facture of fermented sausages containing goat meat is an alternative use, since meat from old animals is recommended for producing this type of product. Fermentation and drying are the oldest methods for food preservation known to mankind. Fermented sau- sages are obtained by first mincing the meat and their maturing with desirable microorganisms at a controlled temperature and relative humidity for a period varying from days to months. These products can be smoked or otherwise, fermented by selected bacteria, and their microbiological stability is assured by their water activity and/or pH reduction (Bacus, 1986; Leistner, 1990). The shelf-life of these products is generally not limited by bacterial deterioration, but by chemical or physical spoilage (Bacus, 1984, 1986). Processed products, which are minced, mixed and/or heated, are susceptible to lipid oxidation and off flavor development. Lipid oxidation is considered as the main process responsible for the loss of quality in meat products, besides microbiological deterioration (Eburne & Prentice, 1996). According to Degenhart (1988), enzymatic hydrolysis during fermen- tation accelerates lipid peroxidation. Due to the high fat content and low water activity of these products, lipid oxidation is the main factor responsible for loss of quality, leading to oxidative flavors and loss of pigments and vitamins (Labuza, 1982; Melton, 1983; Pearson & Tauber, 1984; Rhee, 1989; Singh, 1996). Many researchers have indicated that lipid oxidation in meat products can be controlled or minimized, by the addition of commercial synthetic antioxidants or nat- ural antioxidants (Gray, Gomaa, & Buckley, 1996). Consumers and processors are concerned about the safety of synthetic food additives. This has led to renewed interest in natural products and increased 0309-1740/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0309-1740(02)00051-7 Meat Science 63 (2003) 43–49 www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55-85-299-1849; fax: +55-85-299- 1833. E-mail address: renata@cnpat.embrapa.br (R.T. Nassu).