Uticaj različitih tehnoloških parametara na formiranje boje tradicionalne fermentisane kobasice (Petrovačka kobasica) tokom standardizacije bezbednosti i kvaliteta / The influence of different technological parameters during standardization of safety and

The aim of this Ph.D. dissertation was to determine the influence of various technological parameters on the colour formation of Petrovačka kobasica, as well as to define correlation between number of technological parameters and optimal colour quality of traditional product (by modelling traditional technology), in order to standardize quality and safety, and consequently with the main goal to obtain a recognizable high quality product that could be continuously produced throughout the whole year period. To achieve the defined tasks in three production season 13 models of Petrovačka kobasica were produced in order to examine the effect of the following variable technological parameters: production season, post mortem time of meat deboning, type of the casing (natural and artificial), manual or mechanical mixing, smoking in traditional and controlled conditions, drying and ripening in traditional and controlled conditions, the addition of isolated indigenous starter culture, and storage time and packaging (unwrapped, packed in vacuum and modified atmosphere) in the process of colour formation. Colour formation of Petrovačka kobasica during smoking and drying processes and storage was followed by determination of instrumental colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, h, C*, R, BI and ∆E) on the surface and cut cross section of Petrovačka kobasica. The number of technological parameters (pH, content of moisture, total fat, total ash and chloride), indicators of sensory quality (sausage appearance and condition of casing, colour and colour stability at the cut cross section, the overall sensory quality) and quality of red hot paprika powder were determined. Analysing the results obtained in these studies it was concluded that sausages produced from chilled meat and smoked in traditional conditions (sausages of B1 and B2 groups) had the optimal colour quality and superior (protected) sensory quality. Lower temperatures (8.30°C-10.7°C) during smoking and drying processes, slower decrease of pH value from 5.69 (raw sausage after stuffing) to ~ 5.4 and the chloride content ~ 3% in the final product, with the addition of high quality red hot paprika powder enable the formation of the optimal colour of these groups of sausages. Optimal colour of cut cross section of sausages was characterized with numerically smaller values of instrumental colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, h, C* and BI) in relation to sausages with lower scores for sensory evaluated colour. During storage (from the end of drying process up to 270 days of production), minor changes of instrumental colour characteristics on the surface and cut cross section of Petrovačka kobasica were noted when sausages were stored packed in vacuum or modified atmosphere, compared with unpackaged ones. Packing in vacuum and modified atmosphere is a good solution for the preservation of optimal colour characteristics, as packaged sausages of B1 and B2 groups stored for 4 months from the end of the drying process (from 90 to 210 days from the date of production) had no changes in sensory evaluated colour quality. Further, until the end of storage (270 days of production) just minor changes of this sensory parameter were noticed. Considering that these investigations are a part of wider conceived researches of development of traditional technology of Petrovačka kobasica and standardization of quality and safety, the influence of variable technological parameters on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Petrovačka kobasica, as a very important indicator of health safety of sausage, were also studied. One of the most important results of these researches is that benzo[a]pyrene was not detected in any sample of Petrovačka kobasica. It was also concluded that Petrovačka kobasica smoked in traditional way, as well as in industrial conditions was safe for consumers in the terms of the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as all samples of analysed sausages meet the requirements defined by national and European regulations.