Boneless pork shoulders were formulated with flavor adjuncts for the produc
tion of a semidry sausage. Nitrite was added as 75 or 150 ppm of the formul
ation and 5% fresh garlic, 1.2% garlic powder or 0.006% garlic essential oi
l was incorporated. The samples with 150 ppm added nitrite were only slight
ly higher in pH than those with 75 ppm added nitrite, and this value decrea
sed with storage time. TEA and TPC numbers indicated that the sausage sampl
es did not spoil during storage. Garlic addition did not produce lower thio
barbituric acid (TBA) total plate count (TPC, or aerobic plate count, APC)
numbers. Fresh garlic had a stronger flavor than garlic powder and garlic e
ssential oil in the quantities used. Addition of 150 ppm nitrite resulted i
n a brighter color, and better antimicrobial ability than 75 ppm nitrite. S
ensory evaluation revealed little differences between samples with 75 ppm a
nd 150 ppm added nitrite.