applied sciences Article  
Effect of Acid Whey in Combination with Sodium Ascorbate on Selected Parameters Related to Proteolysis in Uncured Dry-Fermented Sausages  
[PERSON], [PERSON]; K. K.  
culture [6]. The meat industry, also related to the production of raw fermented products, is under pressure from consumers and nutritionists to introduce other strategies to increase the nutritional value of processed meat. One such strategy is to remove harmful additives in line with the \"clean label\" trend [7]. The elimination of nitrite or nitrate used in the curing process [8] from the recipe of meat products increases the health benefits of processed meat. This is because, according to the literature, nitrogen compounds have negative health effects [9; 10]. However, the elimination of nitrate/nitrite leads to some technological problems due to the multidirectional functions that these additives perform in meat products. Nitrates and nitrites play a role in inhibition the growth of bacteria (mainly _Clostridium botulinum_), limiting the process of oxidation and giving the typical reddish color and flavor of the processed meat [10]. As described by [PERSON] [11], the antioxidant properties are caused by nitrite being oxidized to nitrate by sequestering oxygen, which is not available for oxidizing fatty acids in this form. Similarly, the stable complexes arising between nitrite-derived compounds and heme-bond iron inhibit the release of free Fe\({}^{2+}\), which is the initiator of the reaction of lipid peroxidation [12]. Some researchers also provide other explanations about the antioxidant properties of nitrites [13]. The authors present a mechanism in which nitrite and dinitrogntrioxides react with unsaturated lipids, causing nitro-nitroo derivatives formation, which contributes to the inhibition of lipid peroxid oxidative changes.  
Given the multidirectional properties of nitrite/nitrates, many researchers are looking for potential alternatives to nitrite/nitrate salts that can be applied in the production of meat products [14; 15]. Our previous studies were on acid whey application as an alternative to nitrite/nitrate salts in fermented meat products [14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19]. As indicated, the addition of acid whey in dry fermented sausage production improves its quality in terms of the heme iron content and fatty acid profile. Unfortunately, taking into account some of the properties of the products, acid whey turned out to not show the intended results. As indicated in the study on bioactive compounds in fermented sausages [20], the acid whey-caused application caused the decrease of peptides content, especially in fallow deer sausages. Looking for treatments to improve the effect of acid whey, we hypothesized that using acid whey in combination with sodium ascorbate will affect the processes occurring during the production of uncured dry fermented sausages. It has been indicated that the use of ascorbate salt in meat products causes the lowering of lipid oxidation [21] due to its ability to interact with iron ions, which are recognized as catalysts for the oxidation of lipids in meat products.  
In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acid whey in combination with sodium ascorbate on basic physicochemical properties, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), peptides content, its antioxidant properties as well as biogenic amines content in fermented sausages during processing.