Evaluation of Sausage Products Properties by Chemical, Microbial, and Histological Techniques in Qom Province, Iran

Introduction: Sausages consist of principal processed meat products, including meat and other additives, making special texture and flavor. Consumption of these products has increased nowadays. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical, microbial, and histological properties of sausage products manufactured and distributed in Qom province, Iran. Methods: In this study, 100 samples of varied types of sausage products were randomly collected from Oct-2021 to Jun-2022. Chemical, microbial, and histological techniques were applied to analyze samples. All measurements were implemented in triplicate, and the data were analyzed by SPSS software version 25. Results: The highest amounts of total fat, sodium nitrite, and starch were observed in 40-50% of meat sausages and total protein and phosphate in 60-70%. Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli, as dangerous pathogens, were not detected in collected samples. Total Bacterial Count, Coliform, Clostridium perfringens, Yeast and Mold were lower than the acceptable limit of the Iranian National Standard Organization (INSO 2303: 2021) (p 0.05). The histological techniques showed that lymphatic, skin, peritoneal fat and plant tissue, trachea, bone, and hyaline cartilage were used to produce sausage samples with no significant statistical differences (p 0.05). Conclusion: The microbial properties of samples indicated suitable hygienic conditions of production and distribution. There was a strong consequence of dramatic variation in the processing and manufacturing conditions of collected sausage samples, due to the high standard deviation value in the chemical, microbial, and histological analysis results. However, the overall quality of production and distribution of analyzed sausage products were suitable.