Effect of the Starter Cultures on Microbial Characteristics of Mutton Fermented Sausages

These sausages were manufactured with mutton and tail fat by starter culture. The microbiological of fermented mutton sausages were evaluated to determine their quality characteristics during ripening and storage. Two groups of fermented sausages manufacture using the same technology were named control group (CO) and starter culture group (SC). In this study, Lactic acid bacteria counts in sausages made with combinations of starter cultures increased to 8 logcfu/g. The total bacteria counts in the SC were lower (P < 0.05) than in the control (CO) after drying and storage time. During ripening, total bacterial counts in the SC were 7logcfu/g, which was significantly lower (p<0.05) than in the CO. The Micrococci-staphylococci counts of the SC were 6 logcfu/g and significantly lower (P < 0.05) than of the CO during ripening.