# Effect of Fermentation Technology and Storage Time on the Quality of Salami-Type Sausages
## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Influence of Fermentation Technology on the Microbiological Characteristics of Salami-Type Sausages  
Traditional, regionally specific meat products are produced by spontaneous fermentation (mixed starter cultures naturally present in the production environment). This process is controlled and monitored according to the rules inherited from ancestors and is usually carried out in unique environmental conditions [1; 14]. On the other hand, the meat industry carries out the fermentation of raw materials and semi-products based on selected starter cultures (usually several components) in fermentation chambers with a controlled atmosphere [7; 11; 23]. Many common features can be found for the starter cultures used in both types of production, i.e., their microbiological origin, mainly from the _Lactobacillus_ group, and production of lactic acid that stabilizes the pH of processed meat products [18; 19]. The results in Table 2 outline the total counts of aerobic bacteria (ACC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), _Pediococcus_ spp., coagulase-negative _Staphylococcus_ spp., and yeasts present in the examined salami-type sausages after the ripening process. A microbiological analysis revealed that immediately post-ripening, mesophilic aerobic bacteria and LAB were the predominant microflora in the examined salami-type sausages. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [39] made similar observations. As shown in Table 2, the ACC count was about 6.1 to 7.1 log CFU/g. Furthermore, the \"warm\"-fermented (WF) sausages were characterized by notably higher total counts of these bacteria than the \"cold\"-fermented (CF) sausages. This disparity could be attributed to the higher fermentation temperature (20-26 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 3 days), which created a more conducive environment for the proliferation and activity of mesophilic microorganisms. For comparison, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [39] and [PERSON] and [PERSON] [22] obtained heat-fermented sausages with aerobic bacteria counts exceeding 8.0 log CFU/g just prior to storage. In the case of the salami produced using the \"warm\" fermentation method, about 7.1 log CFU/g of LAB was reported, which was significantly (\(p\leq 0.05\)) higher than in the CF sausages (5.9 log CFU/g)--Table 2. [PERSON] et al. [40] analyzed various commercially available salami-type sausages and reported that the LAB count ranged from 2.0 to 8.1 log CFU/g. The relatively high LAB count in the final products can be attributed predominantly to the deliberate incorporation of LAB starter cultures during manufacturing (as detailed in Section 2.1). These bacteria can effectively inhibit the growth of undesirable saprophytic and pathogenic microorganisms, ensuring the microbiological safety of sausages during storage [18; 19]. Moreover, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [41] emphasized that consuming food containing around 7.0 live probiotic bacterial cells per gram may confer health benefits. Unlike sausages obtained through the \"cold\" fermentation method, no _Pediococcus_ spp. bacteria and yeasts were found in their warm-fermented counterparts. For the first ones, the total cell count exceeded 5.0 and 3.0 log CFU/g, respectively (Table 2). The presence of _Pediococcus_ spp. in CF sausages can be attributed to the inclusion of _Pediococcus acidilactici_ in the sausage recipe through the use of the starter culture. On the other hand, yeast could thrive in CF sausages due to the milder processing conditions. [PERSON] et al. [42] demonstrated that the total yeast count in fermented Italian-type sausages can reach approximately 4.0 log CFU/g immediately after the ripening stage. It should be emphasized that _Pediococcus acidilactici_'s metabolic activity in stored salami-type sausages can inhibit harmful microorganisms and limit the oxidative transformations of the components, especially lipids and proteins.