Investigating the Antioxidant Potential of Bell Pepper Processing By-Products for the Development of Value-Added Sausage Formulations

Nowadays, when the supply chain of natural compounds for the production of value-added meat products is limited, the use of by-products from vegetable processing could become an attractive solution, contributing to the concept of circular economy. In this regard, our study investigated the effectiveness of yellow and red bell pepper processing by-products used in dried form (DYBPB, DRBPB) in the sausages recipe, instead of synthetic nitrites, to enhance their oxidative stability during cold storage (4 °C) for 20 days. Two types of nitrite-free sausages were obtained, such as smoked and dried sausages (I) and smoked and blanched sausages (II). Nitrite-free sausage formulations were designed by adding DYBPB and DRBPB at a dose to ensure a total phenolic compounds (TPC) level of 50, 90, 180, and 270 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/kg of processed meat. The formulations developed were compared with control samples of sausages obtained with added sodium nitrite or without any additive. The DYBPB and DRBPB were investigated for total and individual phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. The obtained sausages were investigated in terms of proximate composition as well as lipid oxidation progression based on specific chemical indices such as peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (p-AV), TOTOX index, and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test during cold storage for 1, 10, and 20 days. The antioxidant activity of DYBPB and DRBPB has been shown to be closely related to their total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. It was found that a higher inhibitory potential against oxidative damage was evidenced in smoked and scalded sausages compared to smoked and dried formulations when the same dose of bell pepper processing by-products was applied. Our results showed that the use of dried bell pepper processing by-products in a dose that provides a TPC of a minimum of 180 mg GAE/kg processed meat for DRBPB and 270 mg GAE/kg processed meat for DYBPB have the potential to ensure lipid oxidative stability during cold storage of sausages for 20 days and can be considered for obtaininginnovative nitrite-free sausage formulations. Bearing in mind that the meat industry is currently looking for natural and sustainable ingredients to replace synthetic ones, our research recommends bell pepper processing by-products as promising substitutes for sodium nitrite to develop value-added meat products.