Handbook of Meat Processing

Mold-Ripened Sausages 375

MAP is applied, a long shelf life can defi -

nitely be guaranteed without the limitations

mentioned above or with those limitations at

a much lower intensity. Use - by date gives

information on the shelf life, which should

be determined based on testing. Prepacked

sliced mold - ripened sausages can be stored

for several months.

Preconditions for high sensoric quality at

the end of the use - by date are:

• high - quality product,


• packaging fi lm with high CO 2 barrier,


• packages with good seal strength,


• low residual oxygen ( < 0.1%),


• storage temperature not higher than 18 ° C,
  and


• no excessive exposure to light.

Quality Defects: Cause

and Prevention

If each step during processing and storage is

carefully controlled, excellent sensoric value

is the result of a mold - fermented sausage.

This rigorous control is needed because with

dry sausage technology, no preliminary

reduction of undesired microorganisms can

proceed as in heat - treatment technologies.

Furthermore, drying of low - acid sausages

requires more careful and different controls

than with lactic starter - produced sausage.

This is why failures may occur if any or some

of the following faults are committed:

• hygienic failure with raw material,


• inappropriate raw material (color, fl avor,
  odor defect),


• improper comminution (uneven particle
  size, smearing),


• failure with additives (actual
  concentration),


• improper stuffi ng (wrong temperature,
  wrong type of stuffi ng),


• wrong temperature pattern during
  ripening - drying,

alone or a combination of relatively low a w
and low pH inhibits the growth of pathogenic
and spoilage microorganisms at room tem-
perature. Actual shelf life of dry sausages is
determined by the time until organoleptic
changes take place. Limiting factors of shelf
life are as follows:

• excessive drying,


• melting of fat,


• temperature,


• light,


• discoloration,


• rancidity, and


• aroma loss.

As mentioned before, a mold layer retards
drying but evidently does not inhibit it, and
unfortunately, there is no packaging suitable
for longer storage with sausages that are in
rods. Because of excessive drying, sausages
shrink, and this pressure makes the liquid
part of the fat separate from its crystalline
part, a process accelerated by elevated tem-
perature. Elevated temperature combined
with light speeds up discoloration and rancid-
ity in the presence of oxygen; it is neverthe-
less true that a mold layer counteracts to
some extent these processes, supported by
the mold ’ s metabolizing peroxides (Spotti
and Berni 2007 ). Too low storage tempera-
tures also cause adverse organoleptic changes
in the form of phosphate crystals.
Partly because of oxidation, partly because
of other reactions during excessive drying,
aroma loss also takes place after longer
storage, as a result of which odor intensity
can decrease drastically.
Excessive drying, discoloration, rancidity,
aroma loss — all these phenomena can be
observed only in sausages stored in rods that
are not vacuum packed, yet not in MAP
sliced products if residual oxygen in the
package is kept at a minimum and the fi lm is
a high CO 2 - and O 2 - barrier type.
Consequently, if mold - ripened sausage is
peeled off, sliced, and vacuum packed, or if