The microbial association of Greek taverna sausage stored at 4 and 10 degrees C in air, vacuum or 100% carbon dioxide, and its spoilage potential

Strains of the Lactobacillus sakei/curvatus group, mainly non-slime-produci ng Lact. sakei, dominated the microbial flora of industrially manufactured taverna sausage, a traditional Greek cooked meat, stored at 4 degrees C and 10 degrees C in air, vacuum and 100% CO2. Atypical, arginine-positive and melibiose-negative strains of this group were isolated. The isolation frequ ency of Lact. sakei/curvatus from sausages stored anaerobically was as high as 92-96%, while other meat spoilage organisms were practically absent. Co nversely, in air-stored sausages, leuconostocs, mainly Leuconostoc mesenter oides ssp. mesenteroides, had a considerable presence (14-21%), whereas Bro chothrix thermosphacta, pseudomonads and Micrococcaceae grew, but failed to increase above 10(5) cfu g(-1) in all samples during storage. Only yeasts were able to compete against LAB and reached almost 10(7) cfu g(-1) after 3 0 d of aerobic storage at 10 degrees C. The great dominance (> 10(8) cfu g( -1)) of LAB caused a progressive decrease of pH and an increase of the conc entration of L-lactate, D-lactate and acetate in all sausage packs. The gro wth of LAB and its associated chemical changes were more pronounced at 10 d egrees C than 4 degrees C. At both storage temperatures, L-lactate and acet ate increased more rapidly and to a higher concentration aerobically, unlik e D-lactate, which formed in higher amounts anaerobically. Storage in air w as the worst packaging method, resulting in greening and unpleasant off-odo urs associated with the high acetate content of the sausages. Carbon dioxid e had no significant effect on extending shelf-life. The factors affecting the natural selection of Lact. sakei/curvatus in taverna sausage are discus sed. Moreover, it was attempted to correlate the metabolic activity of this group with the physicochemical changes and the spoilage phenomena occurrin g in taverna sausage under the different storage conditions.