Industrial application of an antilisterial strain of Lactobacillus sakei as a protective culture and its effect on the sensory acceptability of cooked, sliced, vacuum-packaged meats.
The application of a protective lactic acid bacterium (LAB) during the commercial production of cooked meat products is described. The LAB, a strain of Lactobacillus sakei, was previously isolated from cooked ham and inhibited growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in this product. L. sakei was applied to the cooked products at a concentration of 10(5)-10(6) cfu/g immediately before slicing and vacuum-packaging using a hand-operated spraying bottle. The LAB strain inhibited growth of 10(3) cfu/g of a cocktail of three rifampicin resistant mutant L. monocytogenes strains both at 8 degrees C and 4 degrees C. Consumer acceptance tests of cooked ham and of servelat sausage, a Norwegian non-fermented cooked meat sausage, showed that control and inoculated products were equally acceptable. The products were still acceptable after storage for 28 days at 4 degrees C and, after opening the packages, for a further 5 days at 4 degrees C. The findings presented here confirm that the L. sakei strain is suitable for use as a protective culture and may technically easily be implemented in the commercial production of cooked meat products.
Bredholt
S
S
Norwegian Food Research Institute, As. sylvia.bredholt@matforsk.no
Nesbakken
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T
Holck
A
A
D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000254:growth & development*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005519:Food Preservation; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000502:physiology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000254:growth & development*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D013649:Taste; D014618:Vacuum