Semi-dry Sausage Research Articles

The Effect of Nitrite on the Growth of Pathogens during Manufacture of Dry and Semi-dry Sausage

Sausages were manufactured with 4 levels of nitrite; 0, 50, 100 and 150ug/g. During the initial mixing, these sausages were inoculated with 3 strains each of Staphylococcus aureus or Salmonella spp. or with Clostridium sporogenes (PA 428) at approximately 1000 cells or spores/g. The sausages were fermented at 27°C (dry) with or without starter culture Lactacel 110, or at 43°C (semi dry) with starter culture addition. Counts of the 3 groups of organisms were monitored during fermentation (0-24h) and aging (up to 192h). Nitrite had little or no effect in controlling the growth of these organisms. In the case of S. aureus and Salmonella spp. pH changes and fermentation temperature were shown to be more important than nitrite. RésuméDes saucisses furent fabriquées aux niveaux de nitrite suivants: 0, 50, 100 et 150mg/g. Au cours du mélange initial, elles furent inoculées avec 3souches de Staphylococcus aureus ou Salmonella spp. ou avec Clostridium sporogenes (PA 428) au taux approximatif de 1000 cellules ou spores/g. Les saucisses furent fermentées à 27°C (à sec) avec ou sans démarreur Lactacell 110, ou à 43°c (semi-sec) avec addition de démarreur. Les dénombrements des 3 groupes d'organismes furent contrôlés au cours de la fermentation (0-24h) et de la maturation (jusqu’à 192h). Le nitrite n'a eu que peu ou pas d'effet sur la croissance de ces organismes. Dans le cas du S. aureus et Salmonella spp. les changements de pH et la température de fermentation furent plus importants que le nitrite.

A Survey of Histamine Levels in Sausages

A survey of 390 sausage samples of nine different types obtained at the retail level revealed the following mean histamine levels on a mg/100 g basis: bologna −0.55, cooked salami −0.83, kosher salami −0.50, beef summer sausage −1.07, thuringer-cervelat −2.35, thuringer −1.19. Italian dry salami Brand A — 24.5, Brand B — 2.14, Brand C — 19.1. pepperoni Brand D — 1.03, Brand B — 1.42, Brand C — 38.1, and chorizo — 2.29. The dry, fermented sausages (Italian dry salami and pepperoni) had higher and more variable histamine levels than either the cooked or the semi-dry sausages. The brand specific differences seen in Italian dry salami and pepperoni, which are significant at the 0.005 level, would suggest that proper control of the natural fermentations could largely prevent histamine accumulation. These differences also indicate that the microflora of each processing plant influences the microflora and the resultant histamine levels of the naturally fermented sausage. Since the semi-dry sausages (beef summer sausage, thuringer-cervelat, and thuringer) are fermented by addition of commercial lactic acid starter cultures, these bacteria must produce only small amounts of histamine. The presence of rather high histamine levels in some samples of Italian dry salami and pepperoni suggests that the potential exists for formation of toxic levels of histamine in dry, fermented sausage if any gross mishandling of the product occurs.

Histamine and Tyramine Content of Meat Products

A survey was conducted to determine the histamine and tyramine contents of a variety of meat products. Histamine was found in all products at concentrations only slightly greater than one would expect from normal physiological amounts found in muscle. Semi-dry sausage products contained an average histamine concentration of 3.59 μg/g compared to an average of 2.87 μg/g in dry sausages. Country-cured hams averaged 1.69 μg histamine/g. Emulsion type products contained slightly less histamine than the fermented sausages. Braunschweiger, an exception, contained 3.6 μg histamine/g but would be expected to contain more histamine than other emulsion-type products because of its liver content. Data indicate that histamine is not formed to an appreciable extent in these meat products under normal processing conditions.Detectable amounts of tyramine were found in 71% of the sausages and in 39% of semi-dry sausages. Tyramine was not detected in country-cured ham. Average tyramine concentrations were 244 and 85.8 μg/g in the dry and semi-dry sausages, respectively. The greatest tyramine concentration found in this study was 1237 μg/g in a Genoa salami. It is apparent that sufficient tyramine can occur in ripened sausages to be troublesome to tyramine-susceptible individuals.