Effect of indigenous starter cultures on the quality of "salsiccia sotto sugna" salami

The aim of this work was to produce good-quality "salsiccia sotto sugna" sa lami which pose no health risk to consumers. A mixture of L. sakei and Kocu ria varians, isolated from artisanal salami of Basilicata region, was added in the manufacture of salami from two different producers. The effects of the temperature and R.H. conditions were evaluated on the quality of the fi nal products. The starter cultures influenced the growth of spoilage microorganism and re duced biogenic amine content. The ripening according to the traditional pro cesses resulted more efficient on the organoleptic quality of salami than t hat performed according to industrial techniques.