Effect of the addition of tomato paste on the nutritional and sensory properties of mortadella

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of tomato paste (TP) to sausage mortadella in order to improve the nutritional properties and reduce the lipid oxidation associated with the content of lycopene. First, three different mortadellas without colourant were made with 2, 6 and 10% of TP, to optimise technologically the amount of this ingredient. Then, commercial product was compared with 10% of TP mortadella; both products were made with natural colourant. After a proximate analysis only total protein decreased due to the addition of TP. Lycopene content in mortadella and the total antioxidant activity were proportional to the amount of TP added. The presence of TP provided stability during meat grinding, cooking and storage of mortadella by reducing the lipid oxidation. In addition, TP provided yellowness and softness; however, when TP was added together with red colourant, the redness remained constant in the mortadella without effects on the consumer overall acceptance.