Effect of autochthonous starter cultures isolated from Siahmazgi cheese on physicochemical, microbiological and volatile compound profiles and sensorial attributes of sucuk, a Turkish dry-fermented sausage Mina Kargozari a, ⁎, Sohrab Moini a , Afshin Akhondzadeh Basti b , Zahra Emam-Djomeh a, ⁎⁎, Hassan Gandomi b , Isabel Revilla Martin c, ⁎⁎⁎, Mehran Ghasemlou d, ⁎⁎⁎⁎, Ángel A. Carbonell-Barrachina e a Department of Food Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran b Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran c Food Technology Area, Universidad de Salamanca, E.P.S. de Zamora. Avda. Requejo 33, 49022 Zamora, Spain d School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA e Departamento Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Carretera de Beniel, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, Spain abstract article info Article history: Received 9 August 2013 Received in revised form 15 January 2014 Accepted 21 January 2014 Keywords: Siahmazgi cheese Autochthonous starter cultures Sucuk Volatile compound profile Lactic-acid bacteria The effect of adding autochthonous starter cultures isolated from Siahmazgi cheese, on the physicochemical parameters and microbial counts of sucuk was investigated during the ripening period. SPME–GC/MS was used in volatile compound analysis and a trained group of panelists carried out sensory analysis of the final prod- uct. After preliminary screening, three strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, which possess desirable technological properties, were used to prepare three starter cultures: LBP7, LBP10 and LBP14. The addition of LBP7 and LBP14 starter cultures had a significant effect (P b 0.05) on lightness, leading to higher L values compared to control sausages during the ripening period. Both LBP7 and LBP14 sausages showed higher counts of lactic acid bacteria, lower growth of Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-positive catalase-positive cocci and greatly lowered the pH value compared to control sausages throughout the ripening process. At the end of the ripening process, lactic acid bacteria counts were affected (P b 0.05) by the addition of starter culture since higher counts were observed in sausages prepared with LBP7 (9.14 log CFU/g) and LBP14 (8.96 log CFU/g) batches. The decrease of water activity during the ripening of sausages was not affected by the various starters. The texture profiles of all sausages were similar except for LBP10, which showed lower hardness and gumminess during ripening. Under the conditions of the study, volatile compounds were mainly from spices, and no marked differences were found among inoculated sausages. However, sensory evaluation revealed that most of the sensory attributes were scored higher for inoculated sausages than for the control ones. Therefore, LBP7 and LBP14 could be promising candidates for inclusion as starter cultures for the manufacture of sucuk. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Traditional fermented meat products are produced and consumed in many countries. The safety of fermented sausages, the most popular of such meat products, is essentially gained by a fall in pH and a decrease of water activity (a w ) below the growth limit of most pathogens, thus enabling efficient bacterial control using the “hurdle technology” concept (Barbuti & Parolari, 2002). Among the most important factors determining the characteristics and quality of fermented sausages is the choice of starter cultures. Due to changes in shopping and consump- tion habits, together with the growing importance of consumer demand for products with high quality and long shelf life, the problem of safe preservation in the meat industry has become more complex: today's products require a longer shelf life and greater assurance of protection from microbial spoilage (Zhao et al., 2011). It is thus not surprising that in recent years the research has shifted towards the selection of starter cultures, due to the scientific progress in understanding their de- sirable role in meat fermentation. Commercial starters, because of quick acidification, cannot always compete well with natural fermentation, and their use could have a negative impact on the product's sensory properties (Casquete et al., 2011). The most promising microorganisms for starter cultures are those that are well adapted to the meat environ- ment and to the specific manufacturing process, and are capable of dominating the microbiota of the product due to their specific composi- tion and metabolic activity (Babić et al., 2011). Meat Science 97 (2014) 104–114 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 912 462 9140; fax: +98 263 224 9453. ⁎⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 263 224 8804; fax: +98 263 224 9453. ⁎⁎⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 98 054 5000; fax: +34 98 054 5002. ⁎⁎⁎⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 517 802 7743; fax: +1 517 353 8999. E-mail addresses: mina_kargozari@ut.ac.ir (M. Kargozari), smoini@ut.ac.ir (S. Moini), aakhond@ut.ac.ir (A. Akhondzadeh Basti), emamj@ut.ac.ir (Z. Emam-Djomeh), gandomih@ut.ac.ir (H. Gandomi), irevilla@usal.es (I. Revilla Martin), ghasemlo@msu.edu (M. Ghasemlou), angel.carbonell@umh.es (Á.A. Carbonell-Barrachina). 0309-1740/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.01.013 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Meat Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci