Introduction to cultures

Sausage mince possesses a natural selectivity favoring the development of a desired micro flora of lactic acid bacteria and Micrococcaceae. However, production time can be reduced, and product uniformity enhanced by the addition of an appropriate inoculum of starter culture. A traditional way of achieving this is done by ‘back-slopping’. This method is not altogether reliable, though, since undesirable as well as desirable microorganisms could be selected, or the properties of the microorganisms could change over time. Today, ‘back-slopping’ is only used for minor traditional productions and sausage mince is inoculated with standardized starter cultures.

Table below shows the microorganisms used in starter cultures offered by Chr. Hansen.

At Chr. Hansen the microorganisms in the table below are categorized into four groups: acidifying bacteria, microorganisms with color and/or flavor forming activities, microorganisms for surface coverage and bacteria for bio-protection. Depending on the physical form of the cultures and the processing conditions during sausage production the performance of the cultures will vary. In the following paragraphs a brief introduction is given to the cultures and their characteristics, whereas the influence of processing conditions will be described in Influence of processing parameters on culture performance.

Table: Typical microorganisms used as meat starter cultures offered by Chr. hansen

Learn more about these different cultures: