Twenty-four processed meat items locally produced by 6 different domestic manufactures from the beginning of June to the middle of August, 1980 were tested for their physicochemical and textural characteristics. The results obtained were summarized a...
Twenty-four processed meat items locally produced by 6 different domestic manufactures from the beginning of June to the middle of August, 1980 were tested for their physicochemical and textural characteristics. The results obtained were summarized as follows; 1. The moisture content of fish sausage was between 59.0 - 66.1%, crude protein 9.6 - 11.7%, crude fat 2.6 - 15.8% and crude ash 1.7 - 3.2%. The crude protein and crude fat contents were lower than the desirable level and the crude fat content also showed wide variations among manufactures. 2. The moisture content of meat sausage was between 51.3 and 60.8%; crude protein 13.7 - 16.2%, crude fat 17.5 - 28.6%, crude ash 1.9 - 2.7%. The ratio of protein to water was similar to that of the developed countries but fat content was relatively low. 3. The moisture content of ham was about 70%; crude protein 16.1 - 24.4%, crude fat 2.8 - 10.9%, and crude ash 2.9 - 4.5%. When compared to the products of foreign countries, the domestic hams were lower in fat but higher in moisture content. 4. The mean pH values of all products were between 5.9 and 6.4. 5. The nitrite content of all products was between 10 and 40 ppm. None of the products was found to contain more than 70 ppm. 6. Food regulations specifying the chemical composition of processed meats take effect for the meat products, but not for the fish sausages, resulting in the wide variations in the chemical composition of the fish sausage. 7. Warner-Bratzler shear press value of meat sausage was 0.23±0.1 (Kg/wt); fish sausage 0.35±0.1 (Kg/wt) and ham 1.69±0.5 (Kg/wt). W/B shear press value of ham was five times greater than that of sausage. 8. Hardness of fish sausage was between 2.67 and 5.98 (Kg/wt); ham 5.1 - 10.8 (Kg/wt). Hardness showed wide variations among 6 different domestic manufactures. 9. Springiness was relatively uniform and cohesiveness of sausage was larger than that of ham.