Industrial application of an antilisterial strain of Lactobacillus sakei as a protective culture and its effect on the sensory acceptability of cooked, sliced, vacuum-packaged meats

The application of a protective lactic acid bacterium (LAB) during the comm ercial production of cooked meat products is described. The LAB, a strain o f Lactobacillus sakei, was previously isolated from cooked ham and inhibite d growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in this pro duct. L. sakei was applied to the cooked products at a concentration of 10( 5)-10(6) cfu/g immediately before slicing and vacuum-packaging using a hand -operated spraying bottle. The LAB strain inhibited growth of 10(3) cfu/g o f a cocktail of three rifampicin resistant mutant L. monocytogenes strains both at 8 degreesC and 4 degreesC. Consumer acceptance tests of cooked ham and of servelat sausage, a Norwegian non-fermented cooked meat sausage, sho wed that control and inoculated products were equally acceptable. The produ cts were still acceptable after storage for 28 days at 4 degreesC and, afte r opening the packages, for a further 5 days at 4 degreesC. The findings pr esented here confirm that the L. sakei strain is suitable for use as a prot ective culture and may technically easily be implemented in the commercial production of cooked meat products. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.