Performance of a novel casing made of chitosan under traditional sausage manufacturing conditions

• Chitosan casing (cs) has similar water solubility to commercial collagen cs.
• Chitosan cs offers more protection for raw meat and cooked product than collagen cs.
• Chitosan cs is less affected by sausage manufacturing conditions than collagen cs.
• Chitosan cs has superior transparency and O2, H2O, UV barrier than collagen cs.
• Validation of a new sausage cs under traditional sausage manufacturing conditions.

The goal of this study was to validate the commercial feasibility of a novel casing formed from chitosan containing cinnamaldehyde (2.2%, w/v), glycerol (50%, w/w) and Tween 80 (0.2% w/w) under traditional sausage manufacturing conditions. Meat batter was stuffed into both chitosan and collagen (control) casings and cooked in a water bath. Before and after cooking, both casings were compared for mechanical, barrier, and other properties. Compared to collagen, the chitosan casing was a better (P ≤ 0.05) barrier to water, oxygen, liquid smoke, and UV light. In mechanical and other properties, the chitosan casing had higher (P ≤ 0.05) tensile strength, lower (P ≤ 0.05) elongation at break and tensile energy to break, and better (P ≤ 0.05) transparency whereas a similar (P > 0.05) water solubility to the collagen casing. Overall, the chitosan casing was less affected by sausage manufacturing conditions than the collagen casing, indicating that chitosan casing has potential as an alternative to the current collagen casing in the manufacture of sausages.