Microbial landscape of cooked meat products: evaluating quality and safety in vacuum-packaged sausages using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods over 1 year in a sustainable food chain.

Over the last few decades, advancements in process safety and quality methods have been significantly improved, yet new challenges continue to emerge in the sustainable food supply chain. This study aimed to investigate some physicochemical and microbiological parameters impacting meat products, particularly cooked sausages, within a sustainable supply chain, focusing on quality, spoilage populations, and syneresis formation under vacuum conditions. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on 355 samples collected over four seasons using high-throughput sequencing (16S/ITS) and microbiological and physicochemical [pH and water activity (a)] assessments.

Correlation between natural microbial load and formation of ropy slime affecting the superficial color of vacuum-packaged cooked sausage.

The present study outlines a comprehensive correlation between the natural microbial load, which is predominantly composed of heat-resistant sporous-forming Bacillus, and the changes in the original properties related to the superficial color of vacuum-packaged cooked sausages. For this purpose, microbial growth curves were plotted by stimulating the growth of the natural microbiota in sausage packages at different temperatures. The correlations were investigated during sample incubation by the instrumental evaluation of color and the ropy slime detection on the sausage surface.