DRIED SAUSAGES FERMENTED WITH STAPHYLOCOCCUS-XYLOSUS AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES AND WITH DIFFERENT INGREDIENT LEVELS .2. VOLATILE COMPONENTS

Sausages, with added Staphylococcus xylosus, were fermented at differe nt temperatures and with different added levels of salt, glucose, nitr ite, nitrate and Pediococcus pentosaceus in accordance with a six fact or fractional design. The volatile compounds from the sausages were co llected by dynamic headspace sampling and quantified and identified by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The effe cts of temperature and different ingredients on the levels of individu al volatiles were tested using multiple linear regression and analysis of variance. The study showed that sausages fermented under modern pr oduction conditions (high temperature, addition of glucose, nitrite, P ediococcus pentosaceus) in contrast to 'old-fashioned' sausages (added nitrate and fermented at low temperature) are likely to contain highe r amounts of volatile acids, but lower levels of ethyl esters, certain short chain aldehydes as well as lipid autoxidation products. Several nitriles, nitro-alkanes and one organic nitrate were identified for t he first time in fermented sausages. Reaction mechanisms for those com pounds and other classes of compounds are proposed and discussed in de tail.