RT Journal Article T1 Bee products as an alternative for the preservation of nitrate and nitrite-reduced dry fermented sausages A1 Fernández Hospital, Xavier A1 Hierro Paredes, Eva A1 Martín Cabrejas, Izaskun A1 Caballero, Natalia A1 Jiménez Begoña, A1 Sánchez Martín, Vanesa A1 Morales Gómez, Paloma A1 Haza Duaso, Ana Isabel A1 Fernández Álvarez, Manuela AB Food regulations are becoming increasingly restrictive on the use of nitrate and nitrite as additives in meat products, so different alternatives are being investigated to replace their functions. In this study, we tested the antioxidant activity of mixtures of bee products to partially replace nitrate and nitrite in dry fermented sausages. Two combinations of chestnut honey, propolis and royal jelly were added to sausages at 2% concentration, together with 0 and 75 mg/kg of nitrate and nitrite. TBARs and volatile profile analysis revealed a lower intensity of oxidation phenomena in sausages prepared with bee products, but these differences were not perceived by the tasters in the sensory analysis. Only instrumental differences in the a* colour parameter were observed when nitrate and nitrite were not used in the formulation. The addition of bee products did not affect the typical microbiota (lactic acid bacteria and gram-positive catalase-positive cocci) of sausages. The combination of 2% bee products and 75 mg/kg of nitrate and nitrite may be useful to obtain dry fermented sausages with a sensory quality and oxidation stability similar to a standard product containing the maximum amounts of these additives allowed in the European Union (150 mg/kg each). PB Elsevier SN 2212-4292 YR 2024 FD 2024-04-16 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/103753 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/103753 LA eng NO Authorship contribution statement: Xavier F. Hospital: Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Eva Hierro: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Fundingacquisition, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Izaskun Martín-Cabrejas: Writing – original draft, Methodology, Investigation. Natalia Caballero: Investigation. Begona Jimenez: Investigation. Vanesa Sanchez-Martín: Investigation. Paloma Morales: Funding acquisition, Formal analysis. Ana I. Haza: Funding acquisition, Formal analysis. Manuela Fernandez: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Supervision, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis,Conceptualization. NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España) DS Docta Complutense RD 7 oct 2024