The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of hydroxytyrosol derived from synthetic (HTs) and organic (HTo) sources, and citrus (C) extract, by incorporating them in a dry-cured meat product: fuet. Firstly, antioxidant extracts were tested in an oxidized pork meat model system, avoiding by 100% the protein oxidation against AAPH and AMVN. After that, four batches of fuet were made, namely Control, HTs, HTo, and C, which incorporated antioxidant extracts as substitutes of synthetic additives. A hundred-day shelf-life study was carried out. The incorporation of phenolic extracts neither affected proximal composition, nor ripening process (airing losses, aw, and pH), nor color development. However, the incorporation of HT increased Fe, Mn, and Si mineral content. At the same time, HT extracts inhibited lipid and protein oxidation and microbiological growth by 50%. Regarding sensory analysis, HTo was the most unpalatable (extract flavor apparition), while HTs and C samples were equally accepted as the Control sample. In addition, HT fuet samples showed two-fold higher antioxidant activity and total phenolic content than the Control sample. In conclusion, the use of HTs in dry-cured sausages was demonstrated to be the best option to the development of clean label meat products, with promising antioxidant properties and the best standards of quality and acceptability.
Keywords: antioxidants; citrus; clean label; dry-cured; functional; hydroxytyrosol; sausage.