Abstract The paper examines the effect of eleven sterilization regimes on the emulsion capacity and achieved lethal effect of sterilized meat pâté with reduced fat content and addition of inulin. The changes in the inulin-type fructan content were traced under the different sterilization conditions. Optimal Central Composite Design (OCCD) was adopted to study, as independent variables of the sterilization process are selected: temperature and holding time. The mathematical models obtained describe with relatively high accuracy the effect of temperature and holding time of sterilization on the emulsion stability, the residual fructan content and the factual lethality during the sterilization process. It was found that the increase of the sterilization duration of the pâtés was responsible to a larger extent for the reduction of their emulsion stability whereas the rise in temperature had a more significant effect on their residual fructan quantity.