Comparison of Sensory Properties, Shelf-Life and Microbiological Safety of Industrial Sausages Produced with Autochthonous and Commercial Starter Cultures

Svrha je ovoga rada bila primijeniti izolirane i okarakterizirane autohtone funkcionalne starter kulture iz tradicionalnih hrvatskih kobasica, te procijeniti njihov potencijal u industrijskoj proizvodnji pet vrsta kobasica (Čajna kobasica, Zimska kobasica, Bečka kobasica, Srijemska kobasica i Slavonski kulen). Okarakterizirane autohtone funkcionalne starter kulture (vrsta Lactobacillus i Staphylococcus) upotrijebljene su za industrijsku proizvodnju kobasica, koje je ocijenio panel stručnjaka. U istraživanju je praćeno preživljavanje autohtonih bakterijskih vrsta Lactobacillus i Staphylococcus i njihov utjecaj na mikrobiološka, fizikalno-kemijska i senzorska svojstva gotovih proizvoda. Dobiveni su rezultati pokazali da su autohtone starter kulture preživjele industrijski proces, pa se mogu upotrijebiti za proizvodnju kobasica u kontroliranim uvjetima. U usporedbi s kobasicama proizvedenim s pomoću komercijalnih starter kultura, autohtone su starter kulture pridonijele organoleptičkim svojstvima, mikrobiološkoj ispravnosti i produljenju trajnosti gotovog proizvoda.The aim of this research is to use isolated and characterized autochthonous functional starter cultures from traditional Croatian dry sausages and to evaluate their capacity for industrial production of five sausages (Čajna sausage, Zimska sausage, Bečka sausage, Srijemska sausage and Slavonski kulen). These defined autochthonous functional starter cultures (combination of Lactobacillus and Staphylococcus strains) were used to produce five different industrial sausages which were compared by a panel. The viability of introduced autochthonous Lactobacillus and Staphylococcus strains and their effect on the final product characteristics, namely microbiological, physicochemical and sensory properties were monitored. The obtained results indicate that autochthonous starter cultures survived industrial production of sausages and can be used for production of sausages under controlled conditions. Autochthonous starter cultures obtained better results in the organoleptic evaluation, microbial safety and prolonged shelf-life in comparison with commercial starter cultures