Increasing of shelf-life of heated ham using natural preservative chitosan as replacing of sodium nitrite

Because of the importance of meat and meat products, especially sausage and Ham, and the adverse effects of artificial preservatives used in them, in this study has been investigated the effects of natural preservatives chitosan on the shelf life of heated meat Ham and also has been compared with synthetic preservative sodium nitrite. In this study, heated meat Ham in tow treatments, chitosan 1% and Sodium Nitrite 0.01% in conjunction with the control sample, was quality investigated at the temperature of 4°C during sixty days storage. All samples were analyzed in microbiological determinations, lipid oxidation, pH changes and sensory test. Treatments of Chitosan have significant differences (P0.05) with the control sample. In microbial study, chitosan treatment could make a significant difference (P