Quality characteristics of frankfurters influenced by lard-based diacylglycerol containing catechin during storage at 4 °C.

Frankfurters formulated with either lard or diacylglycerol (DAG)-rich purified glycerolytic lard (PGL), with or without catechin, were vacuum-packed and stored at 4 °C for 28 days to evaluate their physicochemical and sensory properties. Results revealed that lard-based frankfurters exhibited significantly higher cooking loss (8.69 %) and released fat (0.63 %) compared to PGL-based frankfurters (5.13 % and 0.33 %) (P < 0.05). Over time, lard-based frankfurters experienced greater deterioration in color, texture, microstructure, and sensory quality, along with increased fat oxidation (0.18 to 1.54 mg/kg) and microbial growth (3.77 to 5.43 Log CFU/g) (P < 0.05). Notably, substituting lard with PGL significantly enhanced the L*-value, b*-value, texture, microstructure, and sensory quality during storage (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the inclusion of catechin in frankfurters further reduced cooking loss (8.69 to 6.74 % and 5.13 to 3.89 %) and released fat (0.63 to 0.54 % and 0.33 to 0.16 %) (P < 0.05) while improving color, texture, microstructure, and sensory quality (P < 0.05). Catechin also effectively inhibited fat oxidation (1.54 to 1.34 mg/kg and 1.86 to 1.51 mg/kg) and microbial growth (5.43 to 5.27 Log CFU/g and 5.37 to 5.09 Log CFU/g) in frankfurters during storage (P < 0.05). Overall, the incorporation of DAG and catechin improved the quality and shelf life of frankfurters during storage.