Fermented Meat Products

Question 1

Define Fermented meat products

Answer 1

meats that are deliberately inoculated during processing to ensure sufficient control of microbial activity

Question 2

What kind of starter cultures is usually used in fermented meat products ?

Answer 2

starter cultures of LAB

Question 3

What are the benefits of using starter cultures in meat products? (3)

Answer 3

• Improve safety
• Improve flavor
• Improve repeatability of meat fermented prodcuts

Question 4

_____ are a minor component of the microflora in fresh meat, but when meat is stored in anaerobic conditions (under vacuum) the resulting microenvironment facilitates their growth

Answer 4

LAB

Question 5

The starter cultures used in meat must be ____________ to produce enough acid to rapidly lower the pH of the meat, able to grow in __ salt, and have the capacity to enhance _______ of the meat without producing slimes

Answer 5

homofermentative
6%
the flavor

Question 6

What was the first commercially available starter culture for fermented meats?

Answer 6

Pediococcus acidilactici

Question 7

Name a few characteristics of Pediococcus acidilactici

Answer 7

• It was present in fermented meats (although did not dominate the culture)
• It survives lyophilization
• It rapidly produces lactic acid
• It has a higher optimal growth temperature than Lactobacillus sp.
• It is salt tolerant up to at least 6.5%

Question 8

There is also a _________ starter culture that can be used alone or in combination with P. acidilactici for dry and semidry sausage

Answer 8

Lb. plantarum

Question 9

Meat starter cultures are able to decrease the pH in a meat product from ____ to ___ in 8 hours

Answer 9

5. 6

4. 8

Question 10

Certain bacteria such as ___________ and ________ can be commonly added to starter cultures to reduce nitrate/nitrite to nitric oxide via nitrate and nitrite reductase to develop meat into the characteristic pink colour after heating

Answer 10

staphylococci

kocuria

Question 11

Red color development in meat can also be attributed to the consumption of _______

Answer 11

oxygen

Question 12

Explain how metmyoglobin is formed and how it gets reduced to myoglobin

Answer 12

• Increased oxygen consumption (by growing facultative aerobes) reduces oxygen tension on the meat surface
• Bacteria can then form a physical barrier that limits oxygen from diffusing to the meat underneath
• Metmyoglobin forms (brown)
• As the microbes continue to consume oxygen, metmyoglobin gets reduced to myoglobin derivatives (bright red)

Question 13

Since fermented meats are processed without heat treatment, addition of ________ producing strains was suggested to ameliorate safety concerns

Answer 13

bacteriocin

Question 14

Define bacteriocins

Answer 14

antimicrobial peptides that either kill or inhibit the growth of certain other Gram-positive bacteria

Question 15

Because of their minimal risk to human health bacteriocins are considered ____________

Answer 15

natural food preservatives

Question 16

Several species of __________ produce bacteriocins

Answer 16

Lactobacillus

Question 17

Name advantages associated with the use of cultures containing bacteriocins? (3)

Answer 17

• Antimicrobial activity against pathogens and spoilage bacteria
• Increased shelf life
• Reduced rate of meat tissue degradation

Question 18

What are the compositional characteristicsof dry and semidry sausages that are tightly regulated by safety agencies (3):

Answer 18

• MPR
• pH limits
• Ingredients

Question 19

Name the manufacturing steps involved in semidry sausage manufacture (7)

Answer 19

1) Reduce the particle size of high-quality raw meat
2) Incorporate salt and nitrate or nitrite, glucose, spices, seasonings, and specific starter culture
3) Uniformly blend all ingredients
4) Vacuum stuff the meat into a semipermeable casing to minimize the presence of oxygen
5) Incubate at or near the starter cultures optimum growth temperature until a specific pH end point is achieved (or until carbohydrates are utilized)
6) Heat (not always required) to inactivate starter culture and ensure pathogen destruction
7) Dry (aging) to the required MPR

Question 20

Fish Sauces have a salty taste and are predominantly derived from _____________

Answer 20

decanting or pressing fish or shrimp that have been fermented from 9-months or a year