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| Influence of Species Diversity of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci in Starter Cultures on the Sensory Characteristics of Fermented Sausages |
| SONG Futong, LI Ruren, TIAN Yaqin, ZHANG Di, YAO Yafang, ZHANG Nan, LI Wenqian, RONG Liangyan |
| 1. School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an 710021, China; 2. College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013, China |
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Abstract To investigate the effects of the species heterogeneity and diversity of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) on the flavor characteristics and physicochemical properties of fermented sausages, binary and ternary combinations of Staphylococcus equorum EH-4 and Staphylococcus xylosus TS-1 with Pediococcus pentosaceus TP-1, S. equorum EH-4 + P. pentosaceus TP-1 (TPEH), S. xylosus TS-1 + P. pentosaceus TP-1 (TPTS), and S. equorum EH-4 + S. xylosus TS-1 + P. pentosaceus TP-1 (THE-4) were used as starters to prepare fermented sausages. The results showed that water activity (aw), moisture content and pH were all reduced, and redness value (a*) was increased in the inoculated groups compared to non-inoculated controls. In terms of volatile flavor compounds, the content of ester compounds was significantly higher and the content of acid levels was lower in the TPTS group, while the TPEH group produced a greater amount of acid compounds and consequently got a higher sensory score for sourness (7.75). By contrast, the THE-4 group exhibited a more balanced acid profile and significantly enhanced levels of key flavor-active compounds, including esters (ethyl octanoate, methyl octanoate), alcohols (1-octen-3-ol, 2,3-butanediol), and ketones (2-nonanone, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone), so that it got higher sensory scores for fruity (7.58), milky (7.86), and sweet (7.63) aroma attributes. These findings suggest that increasing species diversity of CNS in starter cultures promotes the synthesis of characteristic volatile compounds in fermented sausages, thereby improving its sensory quality.
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2026, Vol. 40 
