Each type of treated pork sausage
was formulated and prepared as one batch. After grinding,
blending and forming into patties, the products
were subdivided into groups destined to be frozen fresh
or after cooking. For raw-frozen storage, patties were
packed in high-barrier film pouches (3 cc O2/645 cm2/
24 h at 23 C and 0% RH, Curlon Grade 861m, Cryovac
Division, W.R. Grace Co., Duncan, SC) and frozen in
an air-blast freezer at 30 C. Subsequently, patties
were packed into boxes and stored in a 20 C freezer.
For cooked-frozen storage, patties were first cooked
using a Wolf gas grill preheated to 190 C. Patties were
cooked to 71 C internal temperature (as indicated by a
digital thermocouple recorder (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh,
PA)), chilled at 3 ± 1 C, placed in high barrier
pouches, and frozen in an air blast freezer at 30 C.
Frozen patties were packed into boxes and stored at
20 C