title: Survival of Helicobacter pylori in Turkish fermented sucuk and heat-treated sucuk during production.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the survival of Helicobacter pylori during production of sucuk (Turkish fermented sausage). The sucuk mixture was inoculated with H. pylori ATCC 43504 to produce a final level in the mixture of ∼5 × 10(6) CFU/g.  Samples in group I were fermented and dried traditionally at 22°C for 7 days. Samples in groups II and III were subjected to the traditional fermentation at 22°C for 3 days. After fermentation, group II samples were fermented and dried at 35°C for 4 days and group III samples were  treated with heat until the core temperature reached 65°C. On the first day of fermentation, a 1-log reduction in H. pylori was found in all groups. The H. pylori levels in all groups increased by about 1 log CFU/g by the third day of fermentation and reached the inoculation  level. On the fifth and seventh days of fermentation, no appreciable change occurred in the level of H. pylori in groups I and II. After heat treatment, the H. pylori levels were below the level of detection. These results suggest that H. pylori can grow during sucuk fermentation  and that a heat treatment should be used during sucuk processing to destroy H. pylori.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey. aguner@selcuk.edu.tr
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guner
authors.forename: Kursat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kav
authors.forename: Kemal Kaan
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Tekinsen
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dogruer
authors.forename: Nihat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Telli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005285:Fermentation; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D013552:Swine; D014421:Turkey