Anotace:
The modern-day meat industry is facing increased customer demand to abandon synthetic additives and move towards healthier natural options. Multiple fruits, vegetables, and spices were recently evaluated for their potential use in the meat industry. We also must consider the economic side; therefore, food scientists have become interested in polyphenol-rich co-products. Our study was focused on enhancing the antioxidant properties of a popular meat product – pork sausage with cascara extract at 5 mL/kg and powder at 5 g/kg. As cascara polyphenols and antioxidant capacity are highly variable depending on multiple factors, we evaluated total polyphenolic content and total antioxidant capacity at 21.26 ± 0.17 g GAE/kg and 37.65 ± 1.84%, respectively. During our experiment, we observed that cascara powder addition significantly reduced malondialdehyde production (by approx. 30%) compared to negative control. Even though cascara powder caused the difference in the pH values of sausage samples, the sensory panel did not negatively reflect this fact during the sensory evaluation. Based on our results, we believe cascara addition in powdered form presents a natural antioxidant option with high potential to be used in the meat industry.