Effect of adding citrus fibre washing water and rosemary essential oil on the quality characteristics of a bologna sausage

There is a growing demand of natural products in human diet, both due to the possible negative effects of synthetic food additives on human health and to the increased consumer perception for this problem in recent years. The aim of this work was to study the effect of adding rosemary essential oil (REO) (200 mg/kg) and different concentrations of citrus fibre washing water (CFWW) (50–100 g/kg), obtained as a co-product during the extraction of dietary fibre from citrus co-products, on the chemical, physical–chemical and sensorial characteristics of a bologna sausage. The moisture content and water activity fell in all the samples compared with the control values. The ash content in formulas added with CFWW and/or REO increased with respect to the control. The addition of CFWW and/or REO had no effect on CIE LAB parameters analysed, pH and textural properties. The samples analysed lowered the levels of residual nitrite and the extent of lipid oxidation. Analysis of the samples revealed the presence of the flavonoids, hesperidin and narirutin. Hesperidin concentrations were higher than narirutin. Sensorially, the most appreciated sample was the one containing 50 g/kg citrus fibre washing water and 200 mg/kg rosemary essential oil.