Sausage Manufacturing
Least Cost Formulation (LCF or LP) has been utilized in the sausage industry for a long time. Usage of these techniques has benefited the industry by:
These benefits of LP are further enhanced when regulatory, product standards, and target physical characteristic constraints are considered. For example:
| Product | Moisture % | Fat % | Protein % | Collagen % |
| Frankfurter | 49-61 | 18-25 | 12-16 | 18-20 |
| Italian, Sweet | 52 | 30 | 13.5 | 27 |
| Pepperoni | 49-55 | 25-27 | 19-22 | 28-40 |
| Salami (cooked) | 45-55 | 15-35 | 14-18 | 21-27 |
Given that the raw materials used in the manufacturing of sausage products can vary widely on composition (water soluble protein, salt soluble protein, collagen, and color) the application of LP can greatly benefit a company. Examples of the ingredients and their composition are:
| Raw Material | Fat % | Protein % | Moisture % |
| Beef Chucks | 4.5 | 20.5 | 75.0 |
| Beef Cheek | 20.0 | 16.5 | 62.0 |
| Beef Trimmings | 15.0 | 18.0 | 66.0 |
| Cereal Flour | 1.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 |
| Pork Trimmings | 45.0 | 10.0 | 43.0 |
| Pork Fat | 94.5 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Pork Jowl | 69.1 | 6.5 | 22.0 |
| Water or Ice | 0 | 0 | 100 |
Traditionally sausage recipes have been expressed in terms of added ingredients, which for a summer sausage would look like the following:
DRY BEEF SALAMI
| Ingredients: | |
| 9 lbs | Beef trimmings (lean, 85%) |
| 1 lb | Pork or beef kidney fat |
| 5 oz (lO tbsp) | Salt |
| 1.2 oz (8 1/4 tsp) | Sugar |
| 1 oz (2 tbsp) | White pepper or black pepper |
| O.1 oz (5/8 tsp) | Mace |
| O.1 oz (5/8 tsp) | Ginger |
| .4 oz (2 1/4 tsp) | Sodium ascorbate |
| .4 oz (13/4 tsp) |
Cure (add dissolved in a small amount of water) |
However, this fixed recipe does not take advantage of either variability of beef trimmings nor the availability of other beef meats available. Sometimes, the sausage maker will use a mathematical calculation referred to as the "Pearson square" to blend two ingredients together to obtain a target composition ingredient. By using Format software a consistent product can be manufactured that is more flexible in ingredient makeup than the traditional recipe and with considerable savings in ingredient cost.