en public specific orginal article <div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background:</strong> Many common cancers, such as prostate, breast, and colon, are caused by harmful substances and compounds contained in processed foods, including nitrite-treated meats. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing sodium nitrite with <em>Monascus purpureus </em>pigment in sausage and to assess its antimicrobial, antioxidant, color, and sensory properties. <strong>Methods:</strong> The antioxidant properties (Thiobarbiturics), microbiology tests, color (<em>L*</em>, <em>a*</em>, and <em>b*</em>), and their sensory evaluation were measured 30 days after production (storage in a refrigerator condition) and compared with the control sample (without <em>Monascus purpureus </em>pigment and with 100% nitrite). The data were analyzed using Duncan&#39;s one-way analysis of variance at 95% confidence level through Minitab 16 software. <strong>Results:</strong> Replacement of <em>Monascus purpureus </em>pigment with nitrite had no significant effect on the sensory properties of treatments and caused a slight increase in the thiobarbituric index during the storage period, which was not significantly different with the control sample before its replacement up to 60%. The microbial load was increased during the storage in all treatments. The microbial load of samples in which nitrite was replaced with 0%, 40%, and 60% <em>Monascus purpureus </em>pigment was within the acceptable range of standard after 30 days of storage. <em>L*</em> index was decreased, but <em>a*</em> and <em>b*</em> indices were increased by replacing <em>Monascus purpureus </em>pigment with nitrite. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The sample containing 60% <em>Monascus purpureus </em>pigment was selected as a superior treatment because the antioxidant properties, microbial load, and sensory properties had no significant difference with the control sample.</div> &nbsp; Sodium nitrite, Sausage, Monascus purpureus pigment 335 344 http://jnfs.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-230-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Leila Nateghi leylanateghi@iauvaramin.ac.ir 0000-0001-8937-8728 Yes Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture, Varamin-Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran. Alireza Maleki Kahaki 0000-0003-0205-2413 No Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture, Varamin-Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran Fatemeh Zarei 0000-0003-2497-1103 No Halal Research Center, Tehran, Iran