Data-Driven Process Monitoring and Intelligent Quality Control in Semi-Smoked Sausage Production Enriched with Pumpkin Powder and Bifidobacterium bifidum

The growing demand for functional meat products requires innovative manufacturing technologies that combine functional ingredients with intelligent process monitoring and data-driven quality control. This study presents an enhanced production technology for semi-smoked sausages enriched with pumpkin powder and Bifidobacterium bifidum, aimed at improving nutritional quality, food safety, and production efficiency while providing a foundation for smart manufacturing applications. A comprehensive technological workflow was developed covering raw material preparation, biological maturation, multicomponent brine treatment, grinding, mixing, stuffing, thermal processing, smoking, drying, packaging, and storage. Pumpkin powder was incorporated at 5 kg per 100 kg of meat mixture to increase dietary fiber and bioactive compounds, while Bifidobacterium bifidum was introduced as a starter culture to accelerate maturation, improve microbiological stability, and enhance sensory characteristics. Critical process variables, including temperature, relative humidity, pH, microbial activity, residual sodium nitrite concentration, and thermal processing conditions, were identified as key indicators for continuous monitoring and intelligent quality assessment. Comparative evaluation between conventional and enriched formulations demonstrated measurable improvements in product quality. Protein content increased from 13.3% to 13.5%, fat content from 4.49% to 5.8%, and dietary fiber reached 0.93% in the experimental product. Residual sodium nitrite concentration decreased by 50% (from 0.004% to 0.002%), indicating enhanced food safety. Sensory evaluation further confirmed superior consumer acceptance, with the experimental sample achieving an overall score of 4.7/5 compared with 4.0/5 for the control. The proposed production framework identifies critical process variables that can form the basis for future data-driven monitoring and intelligent quality assessment in industrial sausage manufacturing. The collected process and quality indicators provide a foundation for the subsequent development of predictive models for quality estimation, anomaly detection, and process optimization. The developed approach provides a technological and experimental foundation for future smart-manufacturing applications aimed at improving process stability, product safety, and the nutritional value of functional meat products.