Effect of cinnamaldehyde-nanoemulsion and nanostructured lipid carriers on physicochemical attributes of reduced-nitrite sausages

•Cinnamaldehyde-nanostructured lipid carriers and nanoemulsion reduced nitrite in sausage.•Nanoemulsion and NE + nitrite indicated the lowest oxidative and microbial features.•CA/NLC/NE + nitrite indicated better color quality and higher oxymyoglobin content.•NE and NLC (+nitrite) were favored by the panelists in terms of color and flavor. This study aimed to produce cinnamaldehyde (CA)-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and nanoemulsion (NE) to replace nitrite in sausage. The NLC and NE droplet sizes were 132 and 116 nm with encapsulation efficiency of 98 and 96 %, respectively. In in vitro antimicrobial assessment, the free CA and NE showed higher microbial activity against S. aureus and E. coli than NLC. Meanwhile, NE showed a faster release profile for CA than NLC. Among the samples, NE and NE + nitrite indicated the lowest peroxide value (3.7 ± 0.1), TVBN amount (8.6 ± 0.2), acidity (0.3 ± 0.02), microbial quality (against E. coli, C. perfringens, lactic acid bacteria, psychrophilic bacteria, total mold and yeast, and total viable counts), and sensory attribute, while the NE + nitrite sample exhibited better color properties and higher oxymyoglobin content (5–10 % higher). Therefore, NE + nitrite can be the best choice due to supporting the different quality parameters of sausage.