Effects of Spice Essential Oils on Quality and Safety of Catfish Surimi Dry Sausages

In order to improve the quality and safety of catfish surimi dry sausages, the essential oils of clove, star anise, cinnamon, perilla and oregano were added into the pickled catfish surimi, and then made into dry sausages after being filled and air-dried. The sensory quality, moisture content, A_W, pH value, color difference, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARs) value, biogenic amine content, residual nitrite and N-nitrosamine content of dry sausages were determined. The effects of different essential oils of spices on the quality and safety of catfish surimi dry sausage were analysed. The results showed that clove and oregano essential oil could make catfish surimi dry sausages have a suitable moisture content (29.4%; 29.1%) and A_W (0.79; 0.79); a^* value in clove, perilla and oregano groups was significantly higher than that in other groups (P<0.05). The pH values (4.98~5.16) of catfish surimi dry sausages were all lower than 5.4, which all belonged to high-acid fermented meat products. Compared with the control group, the TBARs value of catfish surimi dry sausages in the star anise essential oil group was reduced by 66.3%. The nitrite scavenging rate of perilla essential oil on catfish surimi dry sausages reached 62.2%. Cinnamon and star anise essential oils reduced the accumulation of biogenic amine in dry sausages, and the inhibition rates of perilla essential oil and oregano essential oil on N-nitrosamine in dry sausages were 87.56% and 81.48%, which greatly improved the safety of dry sausages. The sensory evaluation results showed that the overall acceptability of catfish surimi dry sausages with clove essential oil and perilla essential oil was better, while the overall acceptability of oregano essential oil group was worse because of its strong odor. Comprehensive analysis shows that different essential oils of spices have different advantages in improving the quality and safety of catfish surimi dry sausages, so they can be used in combination.