www.ijaemr.com Page 87 International Journal of Advanced Engineering and Management Research Vol. 3 Issue 2; 2018 http://ijaemr.com/ ISSN: 2456-3676 SHELF-LIFE DETERMINATION OF DRY FERMENTED POULTRY MEAT SAUSAGE USING ARRHENIUS MODEL Sabrine EL ADAB* a , Imen ZAGHBIB a , Asma TEKIKI a , Mnasser HASSOUNA a a Research Unity “Bio-Preservation and Valorization of Agricultural Products–UR 13 AGR02”, High Food Industries School of Tunisia, 58 Avenue Alain Savary, University of Carthage, Tunis El Khadra 1003, Tunisia * Corresponding author: Tel: (+ 216) 58 099 641; e-mail address: eladabsabrina@gmail.com Abstract The effect of commercial starter cultures and essential oils (EOs) on the shelf-life of dry fermented poultry meat sausage was investigated. A total of 30 sausages were inoculated with two different mixed starter cultures and two different EOs: 10 8 UFC.g -1 L. sakei + S. carnosus (starter A), 10 8 UFC.g -1 L. sakei + S. carnosus + S. xylosus (starter B), 0.25% (v/v) of oregano EO (EO 1) and 0.25% (v/v) of thyme EO (EO 2), and stored for 28 days at three different temperatures 15, 25 and 35 °C. Shelf-life evaluation was determined by using Accelerated Shelf- Life Testing (ASLT) method of Arrhenius model. Fecal coliforms counts were used as a parameter in this research. The results indicated that storage time affected (P < 0.05) the evolution of fecal coliforms counts whereas no significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) among the samples inoculated with starter cultures and added with EOs. Based on the microbial counts, the prior addition of mixed starter cultures A or B to dry fermented sausages, incubated at 15 °C, has improved their shelf life for about 12 days against 7 days for sausages added with oregano or thyme essential oils, and this compared with a shelf life of 20 days noted on control sample. Key Words: Dry fermented sausage; Shelf life; Essential oils; Starter cultures; Fecal coliforms. 1. Introduction Processed meat products are very sensitive to microbial recontaminations. Consumers demand a reduced use of chemical preservatives and also high hygienic and organoleptic quality of foods. Hence, biopreservation has received considerable attention as a means of naturally controlling the shelf life and safety of meat products. Currently, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and antimicrobial compounds synthesized by LAB are considered to be natural preservatives or biopreservatives (Casaburi et al., 2008; Tabanelli et al., 2012; El Adab et al., 2015; Ammor and Mayo, 2017). In fact, during ripening of fermented meat products, LAB ferment glucose to lactic acid, which is responsible for the pH decrease. This acidification contributes to the formation of the specific acidic taste of the final product ( Parente et al., 2001; Drosinos et al., 2007; Leroy et