applied sciences  
The Effect of Reducing Fat and Salt on the Quality and Shelf Life of Pork Sausages Containing Brown Seaweeds (Sea Spaghetti and Irish Wakame)  
[PERSON] 1,2,*, [PERSON] 1, [PERSON] 2 and [PERSON] 1,*  
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improved by reducing water activity [5], and increases water-holding capacity through the extraction of myofibrillar proteins, resulting in enhanced cohesiveness and adhesiveness properties [6; 7]. In addition to water binding, salt addition also contributes to the fat-binding properties of meat products, resulting in reduced cooking losses and enhanced textural characteristics [8].  
The unique compositional, nutritional, and technological properties of seaweeds may offer the potential for their use as replacer ingredients in meat products [9; 10]. A limited number of previously reported studies have examined the use of brown seaweed species such as wakame (_Undaria pinnatifida_) and sea spaghetti (_Himantlualia elongata_) as fat and/or salt replacers in beef patties and frankfurters at inclusion levels ranging from 1 to 3.3% [11; 12; 13].  
Brown seaweeds are rich in polysaccharides, such as fucoidan, laminin, and allginates, and these compounds can increase viscosity and provide thickening properties, but they may also confer textural characteristics similar to fat in processed meats [14]. Brown seaweeds also contain a high level of minerals (e.g., potassium) and amino acids, such as aspartic and glutamic acids, which may positively influence saltiness and umami (monosodium glutamate (MSG)) flavour profiles in pork products [15]. For instance, replacing 2.5 g of NaCl with 2 g of MSG, a sodium salt derivative of glutamic acid, can reduce NaCl intake by 37% [16]. The use of commercially available Irish brown seaweed species (sea spaghetti (_Himantlualia elongata_) and Irish wakame (_Alaria esculent_)) as partial fat and salt replacers in fresh pork sausages has not been examined and merits investigation. Since seaweeds have an intense flavour profile, a maximum acceptable inclusion level was previously assessed, using 1%, 2.5%, and 5% in pork sausages. The results stated that 2.5% was adequate for sea spaghetti and Irish wakame in fresh pork sausages [17].  
The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Irish brown seaweed species (sea spaghetti (_Himantlualia elongata_) and Irish wakame (_Alaria esculent_)) as partial fat (from 25% to 20%, 15%, and 10%) and salt (from 2% to 1.5%, 1%, and 0.5%) replacers in fresh pork sausages at an inclusion level of 2.5%. The physicochemical, sensory, and shelf-life stability (lipid oxidation and microbiological analysis) of selected pork sausages stored in various packaging formats were also examined.