*Article* **Effects of** *Pleurotus ostreatus* **on Physicochemical Properties and Residual Nitrite of the Pork Sausage**

**Xiaoguang Wu 1, Peiren Wang 2, Qiyao Xu 1, Bin Jiang 1, Liangyu Li 1, Lili Ren 3, Xiuyi Li <sup>1</sup> and Liyan Wang 1,\***


**Abstract:** In this work, a novel sausage incorporated with the *Pleurotus ostreatus* (PO) puree was successfully developed to reduce the residual nitrite and lipid oxidation during refrigerated storage (4 ± 1 ◦C) for 20 days. Five recipes with the supplement proportion of 0 wt.%, 10 wt.%, 20 wt.%, 30 wt.%, and 40 wt.% PO were produced and their physicochemical properties, nitrite residue, and sensory characteristics were measured. The results show that the content of moisture and all the essential amino acids (especially lysine and leucine) and the non-essential amino acids (especially aspartic and glutamic), lightness, springiness, and water holding capacity of the sausages were increased. However, the content of protein, fat, ash, pH, redness, hardness, gumminess, and chewiness of the sausages was decreased. For the sensory evaluation, the sausage with 20 wt.% PO had better sensory performance including flavor, aroma, and acceptability compared with other experimental groups and the control group. Moreover, the sausages with PO reduced the residual nitrite and inhibited lipid oxidation during storage. All of these results indicate that adding PO puree into pork sausage is a realizable and effective way to obtain nutritional and healthy pork sausages.

**Keywords:** mushroom; sausage; nitrite residue; meat product
