Abstract:
Textured soy protein (TSP), characterized by its fibrous structure and high water- and oil-binding capacities, is regarded as an ideal plant protein for improving the quality of emulsified meat products. This study investigated the effects of TSP addition (0~8%) on the texture, water distribution, and oxidative stability of pork sausages during 30 days of storage at 4 °C. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) results showed that in the MP-TSP composite gel system at day 0, 6% TSP shortened the relaxation time of immobilized water (T
22) by about 29%. At day 0, cooking loss of the 6% TSP group decreased to 5.94%, with hardness and chewiness increasing by about 11% and 10%, respectively. At day 30, TBARS decreased by about 23%, and TVB-N reached its minimum of 5.76 mg/100 g at day 0, extending shelf-life by about 10 days. However, at the same storage time, storage loss increased linearly with TSP addition, reaching 5.64% at day 30 for the 6% TSP group. The results indicated that 6% TSP simultaneously optimized texture and oxidative stability during processing, yet measures such as modified prehydration or cross-linking strategies were required to inhibit exudate loss during storage. Under short-term prehydration conditions, TSP enhanced processing water retention at the expense of storage water-holding capacity, necessitating further improvement through optimized prehydration or cross-linking techniques. This study provides a quantitative framework for the precise application of plant proteins in high-moisture emulsified meat products.