The Effect of Acid Composition on the Fermentation Process of Pork Fat

Introduction. Dry fermented meat products are considered to be fine foods. Their quality depends on a combination of various processes. The composition and properties of raw materials, e.g. fat, play a key role in quality formation. The research objective was to study the fermentation process in fourth-category pork obtained from sows, which contains a lot of highly unsaturated fatty acids. The considerable resources that this raw material can provide require improved technologies. Study objects and methods. The research featured two types of pork. The first group included samples made from fourth-category carcasses, i.e. hip muscle tissue and spine fat, in the ratio of 85:15. The second group included control samples made from secondcategory pork that was obtained from young animals. This type of meat is traditionally used for fermented products. The fermentation process was performed using starter cultures for rapid fermentation of StLb 37.03 M (0.1% by weight of raw materials). The samples were fermented at the activation temperatures of the starter cultures for 48 h. After that, the samples were dried at 50°C with shortterm smoke supply for 1 h. The total time of the production cycle was 14 days. The samples were monitored for water activity, pH, weight loss, chemical composition, amount of free fatty acids, secondary and primary oxidation products, color characteristics, and sensory properties during all stages of the process. Results and discussion. The content of unsaturated fatty acids was 65.39% of the total amount of fatty acids in the fourth-category pork obtained from sows. In the second-category pork obtained from young animals, it was 59.1%. Water activity, pH, and moistureprotein ratio were within the control criteria for shelf stable products. The analysis of thiobarbituric values and free fatty acids indicated a deeper degradation of the fat part, but their values were comparable to those of the control group. The sensory properties of fourth-category fermented pork were highly evaluated by experts. Conclusion. The obtained data proved the possibility of using fourth-category raw materials in the technology of fermented delicatessen products.