Color Changes of Vienna Sausage by Gamma Irradiation

Abstract

Color change of vienna sausage induced by gamma irradiation was investigated. Discoloration of irradiated vienna sausage was evaluated by use of the color difference meter and sensory test. The discoloration by irradiation was influenced by oxygen contents in packing pouches. In the case of commercial vienna sausage, significant difference from unirradiated control by 99% of probability was recognised at the doses of 1.0 Mrad in nitrogen, 0.5 Mrad in air and 0.3 Mrad in oxygen, respectively. The color change of the specially prepared vienna sausage (40% pork, 40% mutton, 20% beef, and no additional preservatives) was less than that of the commercial one. The absorbance at 540nm of extracts from vienna sausages with 80% acetone decreased with increasing irradiation dose and oxygen content. While, change in absorbance at 340nm was practically unaffected by the oxygen concentration. These results suggest that the degradation of nitroso-heme complex by irradiation causes mainly the discoloration of vienna sausage.