Development and evaluation of a fermented cabrito snack stick product

In order for the meat goat producer to survive, new avenues for marketing goats must be created. Currently, the live animal is sold directly to consumers, or to brokers who in turn sell the animal directly to consumers or retail stores that cater to various ethnic groups. The production of value-added products with appeal to North American consumers, as well as current ethnic consumers, should result in increased profitability of the meat goat. The objectives of this study were to develop a value added product, cabrito snack sticks, using goat meat as the sole meat ingredient; evaluate soy protein concentrate (SPC) at various levels in an effort to reduce the cost of the product; determine consumer acceptability of the product; and conduct a cost analysis to determine the approximate market price for the product. Three fermented cabrito snack stick products were manufactured containing either 0, 1.75 or 3.50% SPC and stored at 2±1°C until evaluated. The snack sticks were evaluated for sensory characteristics, proximate analysis, pH, water activity and smokehouse yields. Trained panelists detected no significant flavor differences (P>0.05) between the products. As a result of these findings, snack sticks formulated with 0 and 3.50% SPC were compared in a consumer sensory evaluation. Consumer panelists detected no significant differences (P>0.05) in flavor, texture and overall acceptance between the snack stick products, and approximately 61% of the panelists commented that they would purchase them. Cabrito snack sticks formulated with 3.50% SPC had lower fat (P<0.05) and higher ash contents when compared with the control (0% SPC) sticks. Moisture, protein, water activity and smokehouse yields were similar (P>0.05) for both products. Moisture: protein ratio and pH values were higher (P<0.05) for snack sticks formulated with 3.5% SPC when compared with the control sticks. The addition of SPC resulted in a 4.60% reduction in the price of snack sticks formulated with 3.50% SPC when compared with control sticks.