ORGANOLEPTIC EVALUATION OF COOKED SAUSAGES TO DETERMINE ESSENTIAL DISTINCTIONS IN QUALITY AND FLAVOR PROFILE (CASE STUDY OF MEAT PRODUCTS MARKET OF THE KIROV REGION)
Sausages rank fourth among the products having steady demand in the market. The sausage market in Russia is characterized by weak consolidation, and the competition among meatpacking companies is very strong. The cost of production of a high-quality cooked sausage is considerable, and therefore we cannot expect high-quality sausage products to be inexpensive. Attempting to reduce production costs, some unprincipled companies alter the formulations and production technologies of cooked sausage. Therefore, we conducted quality evaluation of some sausages produced by various meatpacking companies in the Kirov Region. We evaluated organoleptic, physical and chemical properties of cooked sausages, and determined the freshness at the beginning and the end of shelf-life. The test results revealed that the quality of cooked sausages varied depending on the brand and the manufacturer. The highest rating was earned by the cooked sausage of the “Doktorskaya” brand, so we conducted further research to evaluate that sausage brand. Five samples of the “Doktorskaya” brand sausages produced by different meatpacking companies of the Kirov Region were evaluated by to their organoleptic, physical and chemical properties. The evaluation showed that all of the samples fell into the highest quality category. According to the microbiological and freshness parameters at the beginning and the end of shelf-life, all the samples conformed to the legal requirements. It may be concluded that all studied sausages are produced in accordance with the applicable regulations.