Comparison of Meat Quality Traits in Salami Added by Nitrate-free Salts or Nitrate Pickling Salt during Ripening.

The intent of this study was to scrutinize the consequence of salt type [sun-dried salt, refined salt, baked salt, or nitrate pickling salt (NP)] on the physicochemical and microbiological features of salami formulated by soaking with Aspergillus spp. before ripening. The effects of nitrate-free salts added were not significant. Nitrate pickling salt samples were significantly higher in protein level, whereas those were lower in fat level during ripening (p<0.05). The pH of salamis treated with NP was higher than that of other salt treatments, while weight losses of those was lower (p<0.05). During the ripening and drying, NP produced lower extent of volatile basic nitrogen and lipid oxidation than those with other salts (p<0.05). The total aerobic population counts of NP samples revealed lower than that of other samples over the ripening time. The addition of NP in salamis produced redder sausages. The salamis containing NP found to be better physicochemical and microbiological quality attributes than the other salt types. © Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.