Effects of Thymus citriodorus and Salvia elegans extracts combined with S. equorum on a clean label fermented cured meat sausage.

New meat product formulations are needed to meet clean label demands and stricter regulations on N-nitrosamine precursors, namely nitrites. This study assessed the use of Salvia elegans (sage) and Thymus citriodorus (thyme) water extracts, combined or not with Staphylococcus equorum S2M7 starter, as alternatives to nitrate/nitrite in fermented cured sausages. Six formulations were tested: control with 150 mg NaNO3/kg (C), control with 150 mg NaNO3/kg and starter (CS), sage extract (S), sage extract with starter (SS), thyme extract (T), and thyme extract with starter (TS). Physicochemical, microbial and sensory analyses were performed. Sausages formulated with plant extracts had very low nitrate and nitrite content (< 5 mg/kg). Inoculation with S. equorum resulted in lower (P < 0.05) residual nitrate content (< 50 mg NaNO3/kg) and enhanced redness, particularly in samples using thyme extract (a* = 12.4), achieving a red colour similar (P > 0.05) to those using nitrate (a* = 12.2). Sage and thyme extracts contributed to maintain oxidative stability, as observed by the similar (P > 0.05) TBARS values across formulations (0.46 mg MDA/kg). Biogenic amines content was low (< 29 mg/kg). All sausages were equally associated with "cured odour", "typical odour", and "typical taste" attributes. TS sausages showed a colour and hedonic appreciation comparable to control samples. No significant differences were observed in willingness to consume or purchase between formulations. These results suggest that the combined use of T. citriodorus extract and S. equorum S2M7 starter may be a promising strategy to replace nitrate in fermented cured sausages.