Bee Pollen: An Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Agent for Beef Sausage

Natural additives can enhance the microbial and oxidative quality of processed meat products. Bee pollen is a natural ingredient with valuable nutritional properties. It has been suggested as a natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agent. The goal of this research was to include bee pollen in beef sausage formulation as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent for improving the quality criteria under cold storage. Five beef sausage formulas were prepared; the first formula was prepared from the basic formula (positive control) include butylatedhydroxytoluene (BHT), the second formula (negative control) was prepared like the basic formula without BHT and the other three formulations were prepared by including 1, 2 and 3% eucalyptus (Eucalyptus ssp.) bee pollen. All formulations were stored at 5±2 °C until spoilage symptoms appeared. Chemical composition, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBA-RS), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), microbial counts and sensory properties were evaluated. The obtained results were compared with Egyptian criteria to assess their acceptability. In comparison with the sausage basic formula, formulas treated with BHT and bee pollen showed a significant reduction in TVB-N, TBA-RS, total aerobic bacteria count, psychrophilic count, molds and yeasts count. The sensory properties of all formulations prepared with bee pollen were acceptable. Bee pollen was superior as an antimicrobial and antioxidant agent for sausage. It could be concluded that bee pollen can be used by meat manufacturers for enhancing quality and extending the shelf-life.