Development of three formulas of scalded sausage based on rabbit meat and their effect on nutritional composition and organoleptic characteristics

Abstract

The research was carried out at the Experimental Station of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of El Salvador, Tecualuya county, Municipality of San Luis Talpa, Department of La Paz. The objective was to evaluate three formulations of blanched sausage with variations of 55%, 50% and 45% of rabbit meat and their effect on sensory acceptance of the formulated products. The study period was 52 weeks, between October 2018 and October 2019. Three formulas of blanched sausage, based on rabbit meat and a control based on chicken meat, were evaluated. The effect of the different formulations on the organoleptic characteristics of the product was determined in order to establish the degree of acceptance by means of sensory evaluation. Satisfaction tests were used for each of the treatments. The sensory evaluation was carried out in the Historic Center of San Salvador (focused directly on the final consumer) with a sample of 80 people between 15 and 60 years of age. A nine-point hedonic scale was used in data collection. Data analysis was performed using the Infostat statistical analysis software. A non-parametric test was performed to analyze Kruskal Wallis medians, allowing to identify significant differences in flavor; however, there were not significant differences in color, odor or texture. The research assessed the cost/benefit ratio of the formulations. The production cost of a pound of rabbit meat was estimated, by evaluating the price of rabbit meat in the market in comparison with that of chicken. In addition, each treatment was analyzed using percentiles, to define which formulation had the highest degree of acceptance according to the variables. The nutritional contribution of each of the formulation was determined by bromatological analysis. of protein (by the Kjeldahl method), crude fat and total carbohydrates. The results revealed that treatment 2 (50% rabitt meat) presented the best nutritional characteristics. On the other hand, treatment 1 has the lowest production costs, although when compared with the other treatments the cost difference was not significant. In conclusion, the most widely accepted treatment was treatment 2. Nutritionally, it is concluded that rabbit meat can provide nutritional benefits to the consumer. This positions treatment 2 (50% rabbit meat) as the one that provides the best nutritional contribution in the formula. The product providing the lowest nutritional contribution was the control treatment (55% chicken meat). When analyzing flavor, the formulations containing more meat presented the highest acceptance scores among consumers (55% chicken meat and 55% rabbit meat).