Influence of combination treatment with natural colorant and additives on the physicochemical properties of emulsified pork sausages during storage

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of combination treatment with a natural colorant (Gardenia red) and additives (sodium caseinate and maltodextrin) on the physicochemical properties of emulsified pork sausages at 0 and 4 weeks. The experimental design included a control (sodium nitrite 0.01%) and 5 treatments: T1 (Gardenia red 0.04%); T2 (Gardenia red 0.04% + sodium caseinate 0.2%); T3 (Gardenia red 0.04% + maltodextrin 0.03%); T4 (Gardenia red 0.04% + sodium caseinate 0.2% + maltodextrin 0.06%), and T5 (Gardenia red 0.04% + sodium caseinate 0.4% + maltodextrin 0.03%). The T1–T5 emulsion treatments exhibited increased redness; in addition, the redness further increased in emulsified pork sausages during storage (p < 0.05). Among the emulsion treatments, T4 displayed the highest water and fat loss (%). Sodium caseinate and maltodextrin decreased the hardness of emulsified pork sausages. However, the additives had no apparent effects on texture properties. Therefore, Gardenia red may replace as a natural colorant and play a role in developing the meat industry. The findings suggest that maltodextrin and sodium caseinate should be considered adequate reformulation with the appropriate additives to improve the texture properties of emulsified pork sausages.