Evaluation of the antioxidant effect of a phytocomplex addition in clean label pork salami enriched in n-3 PUFA

Control and n-3 PUFA enriched raw material was used to manufacture clean label and conventional salami; the former were added with a phytocomplex having iron chelating, DPPH, and FRAP activity, obtained from olive vegetation water, oregano, green tea and blueberry leaves, and with acerola powder. Salami were dried at 3 +/- 1 degrees C until an established decrease in the combined pH and aw values, while only the conventional ones underwent a standard process. In the cold dried salami pH changes, aw and weight decrease were delayed; the phytocomplex contributed to lower the pH, and to prevent lipid and protein oxidation, despite the n-3 PUFA enrichment and heme iron release due to nitrite removal. TBARS and protein carbonyls were the highest in the nitrite-added salami undergoing cold and standard drying, respectively. The oxidation marker MDA tended to increase in the simulated digests of salami n-3 PUFA enriched or subjected to cold drying.