Safety and Shelf-life of Widely Distributed Vacuum Packed, Heat Treated Sausages
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: The hygienic status of Greek vacuum-packed, heat-treated sausages kept at 7 0C was evaluated. Six types of widely consumed products (whole and sliced) were investigated from the date of production to the time of sensory defects development. Shelf life was shorter than the recommended sell-by-date for all products examined. The starting pH values and water activity were between 5.8 to 6.4 and 0.95 to 0.97 respectively. The initial total plate counts and lactic acid bacteria colony forming unites were higher for the sliced products than the whole piece ones and they were correlated positively with the end of shelf life. Potential human pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and sulfite reducing clostridia (Clostridium perfringens) were not isolated from any of the products, but Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus spp., probable contaminants during handling, were present. The evidence supports the shortening of the recommended sell-by-date and stringent HACCP measures after the heat treatment of the sausage mass.
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2167843165