Title: Effect of rosemary leaves and essential oil on turkey sausage quality
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of rosemary essential oil (250–1000 ppm) or its leaves (0.5–2%) on the quality of turkey sausage. The addition of essential oil had no significant effect on the sausage texture and colour parameters. A high rosemary leaves level resulted in an increase in sausage hardness and chewiness and a decrease in lightness (L*) with respect to the control sausage. Sensory evaluation indicated that rosemary essential oil and its leaves increased the taste and the aroma scores of turkey sausage depending on the concentration. The obtained results also showed that rosemary leaves (0.5%) were more effective than essential oil in reducing total plate counts, TBARS, K 232 , and K 270 values during chill storage, in comparison with the control product. This will contribute to reducing the use of chemical additives, which are badly perceived by consumers, while increasing the sensory properties of such products.