Abstract:
In recent years, plant extracts are used as colorant and antioxidant in meat products. Therefore, the effects of cemen pastes produced using different concentrations (0%, 3%, 4% and 5%) of raspberry water extract (RWE) on pastirma were investigated. RWE was tested to improve the color quality of pastirma and decrease lipid and pigment oxidation during production and storage at 4 C for 150 days. Increasing RWE concentration in cemen paste reduced pH, TBARS (P < 0.05) and lactic acid bacteria counts (P < 0.01) of pastirma, while redness values (P < 0.05) increased compared to control sample without extract. The use of RWE contributed to improve sensory attributes of pastirma, and the groups with 4% and 5% RWE had the highest sensory scores. Also, the color and oxidative stabilities of the pastirma containing RWE were maintained better than control during storage period (P < 0.01). The overall results suggested that use of 4.0% or 5.0% RWE as a new additive in cemen paste can be considered an antioxidant and colorant for pastirma processing to prevent color and lipid oxidation.