Production profile and properties of local pork sausage in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

The study aimed to document the production practices and evaluate the different properties of the local pork sausage in Lucan [Quezon, Philippines] through profiling of existing processing and post-production handling; and physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the finished product. It was documented that most manufacturers require their workers to take a bath prior to operation and wear aprons while few require hand washing and use of hairnet and facemasks. Furthermore none of them require the use of hand gloves during sausage processing. All meat materials are sourced locally from animals slaughtered inthe local abattoir either by buying whole carcass, intact meat or ground meat. No washing of meat is practiced prior to grinding which are mostly at room temperature (86.67%) prior to processing. Only 26.67% of the respondents have designated processing area while others process in-store or at the back of their house with only one (1) respondent using electric mixer. All the respondents use stainless steel mixing basin and manual stuffing with 46.67% using stainless steel table. Processors use natural hog casing, artificial edible casing or combination of natural and artificial casings. Most of them process sausage daily and clean their processing area and materials before and after operation. Most of the respondents displayed their finished products by hanging in poles and storing in the freezer. Most of the problems encountered in processing the local pork sausage were shortages of oregano extract, buntal fiber, natural casings, meat material and human labor. Clients are classified into walk-in buyers and institutional. The products are wrapped in brown paper/bag upon selling. Results of the physical evaluation revealed that there is a high variation in the color: L* (47.32±4.55), a* (16.90±6.08), b* (12.53±1.93) and weight (39.29±4.79) of the sausages, while the length and diameter had closer values (9.21±0.65 and 2.23±0.16 respectively). Proximate composition showed that moisture (49.42±6.99%), crude fat (25.51±5.51%), protein (15.08±2.12%) and carbohydrate (7.64±6.04) content had high variations while ash content (2.35±0.26) had closer values. Microbial analysis showed all respondents were beyond the allowable limit for coliforms while only 26.77% were below the limit set for Escherichia coli. Salmonella had 93.33% incidence while all samples were tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Results of the study showed that the production process of local pork sausage in Lucan, Quezon can compromise the safety of the consuming public and comprehensive evaluation by the concerned agency of the local government unit is necessary to comply with the Philippine Food Safety Act of 2013.