Abstract：Chinese sausage is an outstanding representative of traditional Chinese meat products. However, it is difficult to guarantee the consistent quality of traditional Chinese sausages. Therefore, inoculated fermentation represents a new trend in modernized production of traditional Chinese sausages. In this study, Lactobacillus pentosus was inoculated as a starter culture for sausage fermentation to evaluate its effects on the quality of Chinese sausage. Results showed that lightness value (L*) of the inoculated sausages was significantly higher than that of the control (natural fermentation) in the later stage of ripening (P < 0.05), while chromatic value (b*/a* ratio) was significantly lower than that of the control (P < 0.05). L. pentosus inoculation could promote the degradation of myo?brillar proteins. Furthermore, both the textural and sensory qualities of the sausages were well acceptable. The moisture and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) value of the inoculated sausages were significantly lower than that of the control in the later stage of ripening (P < 0.05), indicating that L. pentosus inoculation was effective in accelerating the dehydration process and inhibiting lipid oxidation, enhancing the storability and safety of the products. It is suggested that L. pentosus inoculation could be used for improving the quality of Chinese sausage.
2017, Vol. 31 
