Fatty acid composition of Swiss cooked sausages

In Switzerland, cooked sausages are very popular and belong to the most often consumed meat products. The aim of the present study was to determine the detailed fatty acid composition in commercially available Swiss cooked sausages. Analyses were performed in eight sausage types (N=5): frying sausage from veal, Cervelat, Vienna sausage, Lyoner sausage, meat loaf, frying sausage from pork, pork sausage, and Lyoner sausage from poultry. The fatty acid content ranged from 15.8 to 22.6 g per 100 g edible sausage. On average, 40% of the fatty acids were saturated, 48% monounsaturated, and 9% polyunsaturated. The cooked sausages also contained small amounts of CLA and trans fatty acids. Similar patterns were found regarding the individual fatty acid composition of the sausages. However, depending on the meat and fat type (pork, poultry, beef, veal) as well as the recipes used for the different sausages, slight differences in the individual fatty acid concentrations were detected.