SURVIVAL OF YERSINIA-ENTEROCOLITICA IN FERMENTED SAUSAGES MANUFACTURED WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF NITRITE AND DIFFERENT STARTER CULTURES

The ability of Yersinia enterocolitica 0:3 to grow and survive during the manufacture of fermented sausages made with 0, 50, 80, 100, and 12 0 mg/kg added sodium nitrite and three different commercial starter cu ltures was determined. The sausage mass was inoculated to contain 1.7 x 10(5) of Y. enterocolitica per g. Yersinia was not detected after 28 d in sausages made with 80, 100, or 120 mg/kg of sodium nitrite. All sausages manufactured without or with 50 mg/kg sodium nitrite harbored Yersinia during the test period of 35 d. The highest level of Yersini a (5.9 log10 CFU/g) was detected in sausages made with no sodium nitri te and with Pediococcus acidilactici (C). In sausages made with Lactob acillus pentosus (A), the level of Yersinia was less than 2.0 log10 CF U/g. In sausages made with Lactobacillus plantarum (B) and 50 mg/kg so dium nitrite, the level of Yersinia was 2.9 log10 CFU/g. The pH values made with starters A, B, and C reached the pH values of 4.9, 5.2, and 5.4, respectively.