Abstract: The present study was carried out to discover the effect of various manufacturing parameters on color formation in pasteurized sliced ham. One-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal array design methods were employed to investigate the effects of amount of sodium nitrite added in pasteurized sliced ham, total amount of mixed phosphates (sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium pyrophosphate and sodium hexametaphosphate at a mass ratio of 2:2:1), cooking temperature and rolling time＋curing time on the redness and nitrosylhemochromogen content of pasteurized sliced ham. The changes in color parameters, non-heme iron content, sodium nitrite content and pH of 9 orthogonal array runs were measured during 28 d of storage. The results indicated that the optimal manufacturing parameters were determined as follows: sodium nitrite amount 0.05 g/kg, total amount of mixed phosphates 5 g/kg, 16 h of rolling followed by 8 h of curing, and cooking temperature 70 ℃. No interactive effects were found among various manufacturing parameters. The addition of more sodium nitrite in pasteurized sliced ham resulted in increased residue levels. There was no significant correlation between non-heme iron content and color parameters.

Key words: sliced ham, color, mixed phosphates, rolling, non-heme iron