Improving the Formation, Stabilization, Quality, and Extending the Shelf Life of Camel Meat Emulsion using Chitosan

The main objective of the current study was to apply chitosan as a stabilizing material to improve the quality and extend the shelf life of camel meat emulsion. Chitosan may achieve these roles through the adsorption of the protective layer at oil-water interfaces and viscosity enhancement. The addition of chitosan at a concentration of 0.8% resulted in overcoming the detrimental impact of the heat-stable camel connective tissue and improve emulsion stability. The obtained results revealed that the addition of chitosan significantly decreased the total expressible fluid, released water, released fat and Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) of raw camel meat batter with a significant increase in the batter's viscosity and water Holding Capacity (WHC) compared to the control. After cooking, the addition of chitosan led to significant reduction of TBARS value and extended the shelf life of camel sausage to 5 months at 5 °C when compared to the control that accepted only for 3 months. Moreover, the chitosan formulated sausage showed lower lightness (L*), yellowness (b*) and shear force values than the control throughout chilled storage at 5 °C for 5 months. Improvement of redness (a*), the sensory parameters and ultrastructure of camel luncheon sausage was also observed by the chitosan addition. Therefore, chitosan can be applied as a thickener and stabilizer for camel meat emulsion and produce more stable products through 5 months of refrigerated storage. Furthermore, the addition of chitosan may be safely used by meat processors as a novel technique for improving the quality and extending the shelf life of camel luncheon.