Influence of sodium nitrite microcapsules on the physicochemical properties, microbiological stability, and mathematical modeling during the shelf life of mortadella

Since large amounts of sodium nitrite (NaNO₂) are reduced during the shelf life of meat products, and given the difficulty in maintaining its stability in these products, the use of encapsulation techniques increases the action time of this additive to guarantee food safety. Thus, since NaNO₂ is a mandatory food additive in mortadella formulations, the objective of the study was to evaluate different wall materials for the microencapsulation of NaNO₂ in a spray dryer for further evaluation and monitoring of the agent encapsulated in mortadella during 60 days of storage at room temperature (25 ± 2 °C). The spray drying process was performed via atomization, testing 4 different compositions using porcine collagen, gum arabic (GA), and maltodextrin (MD) with NaNO₂. The 10% GA + NaNO₂ and 5% GA + 5% MD + NaNO₂ samples had encapsulated NaNO₂ yields of 46% and 42% (w/w), respectively. The application of microencapsulated materials on mortadella gave the product a better stability in the NaNO₂ reduction reaction, remaining until the 50th day with NaNO₂ residues above 50 mg/kg, while the control sample reached this level after 30 days of shelf life. Therefore, the application of NaNO₂ capsules in mortadella can be an alternative for promotion of physicochemical and microbiological stability and is of fundamental importance for industrial applications.

Graphical abstract