Fatty Acid Compositions of Selected Polish Pork Hams and Sausages as Influenced by Their Traditionality

Sausages and hams are perceived as important components of culinary heritage for many regions all over the world. Consumers believe that traditional foods are characterized by unique sensory properties and high quality. However, the fats found in all pork meat products are generally not associated with favorable dietary patterns. The aim of this study was to verify the possible differences regarding the composition of fatty acids between traditional Polish pork hams and wiejska sausages, and their conventional equivalents. For this purpose, the fat content and fatty acid profiles were determined. The research material consisted of 2 varieties of traditional hams and 5 varieties of sausages, as well as 4 varieties of both conventional hams and sausages. The results of this study demonstrated that traditional hams contained significantly higher percentage of C 20:3 ( cis- 11,14,17) acid than their conventional equivalents. Traditional sausages were characterized by lower shares of C 18:2 ( cis- 9,12) and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA), whereas higher content of C 18:1 ( cis- 9), C 18:3 ( cis- 9,12,15), C 20:0 and Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA). This resulted in significantly higher amounts of n- 3 and lower of n- 6 acids than in conventional sausages. All of the tested meat products were also characterized by an unfavorable n- 6/ n- 3 ratio.