## 3 Results and Discussion
### Microbiological Quality
The high level of TVC in both samples could be due to the increase in LAB also in the TVC cultivation, which is confirmed by the studies of other authors [52; 53]. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are facultative anaerobic and are regarded as a specific spoilage organism in vacuum-packaged cooked meat products during long-term storage, probably due to its dominance in the total viable microflora as well as heat-resistance [54]. It may be assumed that the LAB level increase in the model products with MSPM at the early stage of storage was impeded due to bacterial cell damage caused by heat during thermal treatment. In the standard bacteria cultivation technique, only replicating cells are determined. [PERSON] et al. [55] showed that cells might enter a dormant state when the environmental conditions become unfavorable (lack of nutrients, temperature, and pH changes). VBNC (viable but nonculturable) cells exhibit active metabolism in the form of respiration or fermentation, incorporate radioactive substrates, and have active protein synthesis but cannot be cultured or grown on conventional laboratory media. The dormancy state is temporary and bacteria cells might reactivate the ability to replicate by corrective mechanisms [56; 57; 58], which was most probably observed after 3 weeks of storage. This hypothesis could be confirmed by flow cytometry, but in our study isolation  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Parameter**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Treatment**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Storage Time (Weeks)**} \\ \cline{3-5}  & & **0** & **1** & **3** \\ \hline Total viable counts (log cfu/g) & C & 2.16 \(\pm\) 1.06 \({}^{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{\text{ \text{\text{\text{ \text{ \  
and identification by preliminary phenotypic and biochemical research were conducted (Table 6). It was found that bacteria isolated from the sausages was in the majority of bacilli, Gram-positive, catalase-negative. In the case of experimental treatment C--4 out of 10 isolates were excluded from further research whereas in the L treatment 1 isolate was excluded due to being atypical for the _Lactobacillus_ cells shape. Bacteria isolates were preliminarily attributed to the genus _Lactobacillus_ according the appearance under the microscope, Gram staining and test for catalase, and next the species was identified using a set of 49 biochemical tests (Table 6). It was proved that, in the case of control treatment (C), only one isolate was in compliance with the biochemical activity profile of the SCH1 strain but in the case of the L treatment six isolates complied with the _plantarum_ species (Table 6). Slight differences in the biochemical profiles of isolates might be a sign that bacteria is in a lag phase accommodating to external environmental conditions, expressing or repressing genes responsible for certain traits [57; 58]. However, it is clear that molecular biology techniques for identification, considered as the most precise ones, are recommended due to the confirmation of the results. In this study, our goal was to initially confirm the presence of _Lactobacillus_ bacteria in the samples and to exclude the presence of other, e.g., spore-forming bacteria that could grow on MRS agar. The present results of the conducted research indicate that the _L. plantarum_ bacteria spcice has been confirmed in the L treatment. In addition, our previous studies have also shown that the meat environment is suitable for _L. plantarum_ SCH1 bacterial growth [25; 28], which is in agreement with the present results of research. The use of nitrites in preserving meat products plays a key role in inhibiting _Clostidium botulinum_ bacteria growth and preventing the production of botulinum toxins [44; 59; 60]. In this study, we did not analyze the antimicrobial efficacies of using of _L. plantarum_ SCH1 and sodium nitrite in a reduced amount (50 mg/kg) against _C. botulinum_.