Irradiation-induced oxidative changes and production of volatile compounds in sausages prepared with vitamin E-enriched commercial soybean oil

Pork sausages were prepared with backfat or commercial soybean oil enriched with vitamin E to determine the effect of irradiation on lipid oxidation and volatile production during storage. The sausages prepared with soybean oil had significantly higher amount of linoleic acid than the control. Lipid oxidation was increased by irradiation at Day 0 in aerobically packaged sausages prepared with both fat sources. The TBARS of aerobically packaged sausages increased with storage, but that of vacuum-packaged did not. The TBARS of sausages prepared with soybean oil was lower than that with the backfat (P<0.05), probably due to higher vitamin E content in the soybean oil than the backfat. Irradiated sausages, prepared with soybean oil, had higher TBARS than the nonirradiated at Day 0, but storage had no effect on the TBARS of vacuum-packaged sausages. Irradiation increased the production of most volatile compounds in aerobically packaged sausages at Day 0. The production of volatiles with very short retention time (<1.80 min) was the most sensitive to irradiation. Hexanal content in pork sausages increased by irradiation at day 0 or after storage in aerobic packaging. However, hexanal production in the sausages was significantly suppressed by vacuum packaging, and especially those prepared with soybean oil, because of the high vitamin E content in the sausages. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.