Chicken sausages were prepared to t

Chicken sausages were prepared to test the antioxidant and antimicrobial efficacy of MOL by measuring 2-thiobarbituric acidreactive substances (TBARS)2 and microbial count. Sausage processing was performed at Keels Food Products PLC, Sri Lanka under strict hygienic conditions. Frozen boneless chicken thigh meat was thawed at 10
C just before the sausages were prepared. The thigh meat and subcutaneous fat, which was scraped from the outermost layer of skin, were ground together in a 0.4 cm grinder plate (Guangdong Henglian Food Machinery Co. Ltd, China). The ground meat was then formulated to contain four different concentrations of MOL (T1 ¼ 0.25%, T2 ¼ 0.50%, T3¼0.75%, T4¼1%) and two controls without MOL, Control (T5) with the synthetic antioxidant BHT (0.04%) and control (T6) without BHT. MOL and BHT were calculated based on the wet weight of the sausages. During the preparation of sausages, the quantity of ice flakes was replaced by MOL. Three replicates were performed and measurements were made in duplicate. After stuffing and cooking, all the samples were stored at 4
C overnight and the next day sensory evaluation was carried out. Instrumental color evaluation was carried out on the 1st, 3rd and 5th days of storage at 4
C. pH, microbial analysis (Total Plate Count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus) were analyzed during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th weeks of storage under refrigerated conditions (4
C).