Effect of commercial starter culture on physicochemical properties and biogenic amine formation in traditional dry-fermented beef sausage

Predrag Ikonić; Tatjana Peulić; Marija Jokanović; Jovana Delić; Snežana Škaljac; Branislav Šojić; Ljubiša Šarić

doi:10.18485/meattech.2023.64.2.11

Predrag Ikonić University of Novi Sad, Institute for Food Technology
Tatjana Peulić University of Novi Sad, Institute for Food Technology
Marija Jokanović bUniversity of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology
Jovana Delić University of Novi Sad, Institute for Food Technology
Snežana Škaljac University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology Novi Sad
Branislav Šojić University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology Novi Sad
Ljubiša Šarić University of Novi Sad, Institute for Food Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2023.64.2.11

Keywords: Sjenički sudžuk, dry-fermented sausage, starter culture, biogenic amines

Abstract

The present work aimed to investigate the effect of selected commercial starter culture on the physicochemical characteristics and formation and accumulation of biogenic amines (BAs) in dry-fermented beef sausage (of Sjenički sudžuk type) processed in controlled conditions during the summer production season. The results indicated a more intensive decrease in pH value in starter inoculated sausages (SC) compared to control (CO) ones, amounting 4.89 and 5.05 after 40 days of ripening, respectively. On the contrary, water activity (a_w) was found to be higher (P < 0.05) in SC sausages at the end of ripening. Two out of six analysed BAs (tryptamine, phenylethylamine) were not detected at any stage of the processing, while tyramine was the predominant amine in final products (CO – 101 mg/kg; SC – 123 mg/kg), regardless of the starter culture inoculation. Putrescine was the second most common amine in SC sausages (111 mg/kg), while cadaverine (58.1 mg/kg) and histamine (78.6 mg/kg) were detected only in CO sausages. This finding largely contributed to the fact that the total BA concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the control sausages (CO) than in inoculated sausages at the end of the production process (314 vs. 235 mg/kg). Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that using selected starter culture in the production of dry-fermented beef sausage positively reduced the formation and accumulation of total BAs, being especially important when it comes to histamine.