CHANGES IN BIOCHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TURKEY SUCUKS AS AFFECTED BY PROCESSING AND STARTER CULTURE UTILIZATION

Lipolytic Changes in Fermented Sausages Produced with Turkey Meat: Effects of Starter Culture and Heat Treatment

In this study, the effects of two different commercial starter culture mixes and processing methodologies (traditional and heat process) on the lipolytic changes of fermented sausages manufactured with turkey meat were evaluated during processing stages and storage. Free fatty acid (FFA) value increased with fermentation and during storage over 120 d in all fermented sausage groups produced with both processing methodologies (p<0.05). After drying stage, free fatty acid values of traditional style and heat processed fermented sausages were between 10.54-13.01% and 6.56-8.49%, respectively. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of traditionally processed fermented sausages were between 0.220-0.450 mg·kg(-1), and TBA values of heat processed fermented sausages were in a range of 0.405-0.795 mg·kg(-1). Oleic and linoleic acids were predominant fatty acids in all fermented sausages. It was seen that fermented sausage groups produced with starter culture had lower TBA and FFA values in comparison with the control groups, and heat application inhibited the lipase enzyme activity and had an improving effect on lipid oxidation. As a result of these effects, heat processed fermented sausages had lower FFA and higher TBA values than the traditionally processed groups.

Effect of autochthonous starter cultures isolated from Siahmazgi cheese on physicochemical, microbiological and volatile compound profiles and sensorial attributes of sucuk, a Turkish dry-fermented sausage

The effect of adding autochthonous starter cultures isolated from Siahmazgi cheese, on the physicochemical parameters and microbial counts of sucuk was investigated during the ripening period. SPME-GC/MS was used in volatile compound analysis and a trained group of panelists carried out sensory analysis of the final product. After preliminary screening, three strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, which possess desirable technological properties, were used to prepare three starter cultures: LBP7, LBP10 and LBP14. The addition of LBP7 and LBP14 starter cultures had a significant effect (P<0.05) on lightness, leading to higher L values compared to control sausages during the ripening period. Both LBP7 and LBP14 sausages showed higher counts of lactic acid bacteria, lower growth of Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-positive catalase-positive cocci and greatly lowered the pH value compared to control sausages throughout the ripening process. At the end of the ripening process, lactic acid bacteria counts were affected (P<0.05) by the addition of starter culture since higher counts were observed in sausages prepared with LBP7 (9.14logCFU/g) and LBP14 (8.96logCFU/g) batches. The decrease of water activity during the ripening of sausages was not affected by the various starters. The texture profiles of all sausages were similar except for LBP10, which showed lower hardness and gumminess during ripening. Under the conditions of the study, volatile compounds were mainly from spices, and no marked differences were found among inoculated sausages. However, sensory evaluation revealed that most of the sensory attributes were scored higher for inoculated sausages than for the control ones. Therefore, LBP7 and LBP14 could be promising candidates for inclusion as starter cultures for the manufacture of sucuk.