Antimicrobial efficacy of a spice ferment in emulsion type sausages and restructured ham

- Fermented spice formulations appear to be highly effective.
- The antimicrobial efficacy is influenced by the type of meat product.
- The antimicrobial efficacy is higher against Listeria innocua as against Lactobacillus curvatus.
- No changes in sensory properties of the investigated meat products.

The antimicrobial efficacy of a fermented spice preparation was assessed in emulsion type sausages and restructured hams and compared to that of two commercially-used antimicrobials; sodium lactate and lauric arginate. Restructured hams and emulsion type sausages were formulated with either sodium lactate (15 × 103 μg/g), lauric arginate (Nα-lauroyl-l-arginine ethyl ester; LAE; 0.2 × 103 μg/g) or a fermented spice preparation (20 × 103 μg/g), and effect on microbial growth and sensory properties determined. The spice ferment retarded the growth of Listeria innocua on the surface of emulsion type sausages by about 16 days, while sodium lactate and lauric arginate retarded the growth for 6 and less than 1 days, respectively. On restructured hams, antimicrobial efficacy was lower with growth retardations being 10, 4 and 1 days for the spice ferment, sodium lactate and lauric arginate, respectively. Little activity of all three antimicrobials was found against contamination with Lactobacillus curvatus. No significant deviation in the sensory properties occurred upon addition of antimicrobials to either sausages or hams. Considering that growth of Listeria is one of the key problems in ready to eat meat products, the results are quite promising. Moreover, results suggest that consumers' demands for products without chemical additives may be addressed by exchanging lactate or acetate with fermented spices.