Contribution of contaminant enterobacteria and lactic acid bacteria to biogenic amine accumulation in spontaneous fermentation of pork sausages

The contribution of selected contaminant bacteria to the qualitative and quantitative profile of biogenic amine formed was examined during the spontaneous fermentation of pork sausages (without starter culture). The study mainly dealt with the evolution of the amine profile and microbial development during spoilage of meat, but also focused on the biogenic amine build-up during sausage fermentation using pork meat contaminated by a tyramine-positive Lactobacillus brevis strain and a cadaverine-positive Enterobacter cloacae strain. Amines and microbial counts correlated well during meat spoilage and sausage fermentation. The high accumulation of cadaverine was associated with the undesirably high number of Enterobacteriaceae. Tyramine production during sausage fermentation was not entirely attributable to contaminant lactic acid bacteria. On the contrary, the spontaneous fermenting flora needed to produce these types of product are also involved. The contribution of contaminant bacteria to the putrescine and other biogenic amines during meat fermentation remains unclear.