Apply Lactobacilli to preserve meats.Scientists at the Federal Center of Meat Research (E.-C.-Baumann-Strasse 20, D-95326 Kulmbach, Germany) believe lactic acid bacteria The Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) comprise a clade of Gram positive, low-GC, acid tolerant, non-sporulating, non-respiring rod or cocci that are associated by their common metabolic and physiological characteristics. has a strong potential for preserving meats. One such application would involve vacuum-packaged, sliced, ready-to-eat meat products with relatively high pH (6.2) and water activity (0.98), in which the natural microflora microflora /mi·cro·flo·ra/ (-flor´ah) the microscopic vegetable organisms of a special region. Microflora The bacterial population in the intestine. have been inactivated inactivated rendered inactive; the activity is destroyed. inactivated viruses treated so that they are no longer able to produce evidence of growth or damaging effect on tissue. by pasteurization pasteurization (păs'ch  rĭzā`shən, -rīzā`shən), partial sterilization of liquids such as milk, orange juice, wine, and beer, as well as cheese, to destroy .
Consumer health and product quality could be threatened by any contamination or recontamination of bologna-type sausage, cooked ham and pate during processing. Using lactic acid bacteria might be one option, although this bacterium bacterium /bac·te·ri·um/ (bak-ter´e-um) pl. bacte´ria [L.] in general, any of the unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms that commonly multiply by cell division, lack a nucleus or membrane-bound organelles, and possess a cell is difficult to apply in high numbers without a drop in pH occurring in the product. The inoculation inoculation, in medicine, introduction of a preparation into the tissues or fluids of the body for the purpose of preventing or curing certain diseases. The preparation is usually a weakened culture of the agent causing the disease, as in vaccination against level is very important when using lactic acid bacteria as protective cultures in preserving cooked meat products. In vacuum-packaged, sliced bologna-type sausage stored at 7 C, low initial numbers of L. sakei were not sufficiently active to suppress the growth of L. monocytogenes, even if a potent anti-listerial bacteriocin bacteriocin /bac·te·rio·cin/ (bac-ter´e-o?-sin) any of a group of substances, e.g., colicin, released by certain bacteria that kill other strains of bacteria by inducing metabolic block. was included. Good inhibition of L. monocytogenes, but no reduction, was found when certain levels of bacteriocinogenic Lb. sakei were applied. However, FloraCarn L-2, a bacteriocin-negative commercial culture, exhibited a satisfactory effect at 5 C when inoculated at certain levels. Scientists found that at inoculation levels of 10(7) lactic acid bacteria per gram, the growth of L. monocytogenes on vacuum-packaged sliced bologna-type sausage stored at 7 C can be completely prevented. This can be done by the class II-bacteriocin producers L. sakei strains Lb674 and Lb706 and by L. curvatus Lb1071. The commercial protective culture FloraCarn L-2 efficiently prevents excessive listerial growth but still allows for a significant increase of listerial numbers. Since listerial counts even decreased in the presence of the bacteriocinogenic strains, such cultures are clearly preferable over nonbacteriocinogenic ones. All lactic acid bacteria strains did not deteriorate the taste of the sausages. Further information. Lothar Krockel; phone: +49 9221 803 234; fax: +49 9221 803 331. |
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