IMPROVEMENT OF THE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF MEAT PRODUCTS WITH THE ADDITION OF FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS

Functional food is a food where a new ingredient has been added to a food and the new product has a new function (often one related to health-promotion or disease prevention). Functional foods are one of the most important segments of the food industry. Many food products including fruits, vegetables, wine and cheese have been found to contain components with potential health benefits. In addition to these foods, new foods are being developed to enhance or incorporate these components. The paper presents research related to the improvement / enrichment of meat products, produced in the meat industry in the Republic of N. Macedonia. The research relates to durable and semi-durable sausages and their production technologies in which various functional components are added: vegetable oils, antioxidants, probiotic. From the obtained research results, it can be concluded that the addition of functional components has contributed to improving the quality without changing the sensory properties of the products, the health benefits of consumers and the expansion of the assortment of meat products. &nbsp