Aproveitamento total da carcaça desenvolvimento de mortadela de coelho com carne mecanicamente separada.

Rabbit meat has a high nutritional quality and is therefore a potential market for the meat industry. Furthermore, its use for the manufacture of processed meat products such as mortadella can be an alternative to increase its consumer market. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and characterize a mortadella based on meat from crossbred rabbits raised at the IFMG campus Bambuí, prepared with not noble cuts and mechanically separated meat (CMS), to maximize the use of animal carcass and offer a differentiated product aimed at a niche of consumers looking for exotic flavors. To carry out the study, animals of the New Zealand and Botucatu were slaughtered at the institution's slaughterhouse. Rabbit CMS was characterized by physicochemical analyses, whose results were: pH 6.90; 70.10%; 18.87% protein; 19.29% fat, 0.04% ash and 1.43% calcium, on a dry basis. The mortadella were prepared in four formulations with 0%, 20%, 40% and 60% replacement by rabbit CMS. Each mortadella formulation was characterized in terms of physical-chemical parameters, such as pH, moisture, ether extract, instrumental color and texture profile analysis (APT), in addition to sensory analysis. As for the parameters analyzed, both CMS and mortadella formulations were in accordance with the standards established by legislation. Only the treatment prepared with 60% CMS differed statistically (p<0.05) from the others for the hue value( h*). Sensory tests showed that all treatments had good acceptance and the same purchase intention. Thus, it is concluded that rabbit mortadella with mechanically separated meat presented favorable technological and qualitative results, making it a promising option for development of a new product, with a low production cost and full use of the animal's carcass.