Analysis of traditional Serbian meat products Aldehydes in dry-cured pork and beef and dry-fermented sausages

The content of five aldehydes (propanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal and octanal) was investigated in the traditional dry-cured pork (n=5, made from m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum) and beef (n=10, made from m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum and m. semitendinosus) and traditional dry-fermented sausages (n=9, made from pork) produced in Serbia. Significant differences were found in the mean values of aldehydes content among the dry-cured pork and beef products and the dryfermented sausages. The order of the aldehydes in the dry-cured pork and beef and their content ranges in mu g/g was pentanal (0.28-3.11, on mean 0.70) > octanal (below measurable value-1.28, on mean 0.63) > hexanal (below measurable value-0.58, on mean 0.45) > propanal (below measurable value-0.80, on mean 0.34) > heptanal (below measurable value-0.66, on mean 0.23). Likewise, the order of the aldehydes in the dry-fermented sausages and their content ranges in mu g/g was propanal (below measurable value-102.27, on mean 18.90) > pentanal (0.23-15.58, on mean 2.93) > hexanal (0.46-8.01, on mean 1.83) > octanal (0.28-1.72, on mean 0.68) > heptanal (0.32-1.33, on mean 0.55). Overall, the content of total aldehydes in all dry-cured pork and beef was in the range from 0.65 to 3.77 mu g/g, with a mean of 2.35 mu g/g, while the content of total aldehydes in all dry-fermented sausages was in the range from 1.39 to 108.59 mu g/g, with mean of 24.90 mu g/g. The contents of propanal, octanal and total aldehydes were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the dry-cured beef than those in the dry-cured pork. In contrast, the content of heptanal was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the dry-cured pork than in the dry-cured beef. The contents of propanal, pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, octanal and total aldehydes were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the dry-fermented sausages than those in the dry-cured pork and beef.