Approximately 20% of pork in the U.S. is consumed as sausage products. Fat is a main ingredient of sausages but can be quite variable in quality. The quality and consistency of fat contributes to the processing, textural and sensory characteristics of the final product.
Generally, unsaturated, soft pork fat is considered to be poor quality, due to issues with shelf-life and processing. Increased unsaturation in fat can occur from changes in feed ingredients and inclusion of alternate fat sources during product formulation. Therefore, we were interested in determining the effect of increased unsaturation in fat on the quality and shelf-life of fresh pork sausages.