Cassava as a non-conventional filler in comminuted meat products

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) was used as an unconventional filler to produce affordable comminuted meat products that stored well under tropical conditions without refrigeration. The study involved two experiments. In experiment 1, five different emulsion-type pork sausages containing 5.4, 9.0 and 10.0% mould-free cassava flour, 5.4% crude full fat soy flour and a control without filler were assessed 0 and 7 days after preparation. A 40-member taste panel sensorily assessed the products in a 5 × 2 factorial (treatment × storage occasion) experiment based on the external appearance of the uncooked products and the external and internal colour, consistency, texture, aroma and taste of the cooked products. Although the panel judged products with 5.4% cassava flour as the best, the 9% inclusion level of cassava flour was found not to compromise the organoleptic qualities of the product. At this level 54 000 cedis (US$150) was saved on the cost of producing 1t of the product. In experiment 2, the sausages were pasteurised at 80 °C for 1 h and stored in a 4:1 vinegar-sugar solution or a 1:1:50 vinegar-sugar-water solution at 5 and 30 °C. Storage in 4:1 vinegar-sugar medium arrested bacterial growth over the 7-day monitoring period. It was concluded that 9% cassava flour could conveniently replace fat in comminuted meat products and a combination of pasteurisation and storage in vinegar-sugar solution is an effective method of storage of such products in the tropics.