Fate of spoilage microorganisms associated with the production of pickled sausage using a cold fill process

Pickling is a means of preserving a variety of foods, including meat products. Cooked sausages have traditionally been pickled using a heated solution of vinegar, salt, and spices in a process known as hot filling. However, hot fill pickling can result in quality defects. Alternatively, room temperature brine does not cause the various quality defects resulting from heated brine. To date, no study has determined the efficacy of a cold fill pickling process to inhibit the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeasts, and molds associated with acidified meat products. Therefore, the efficacy of cold fill pickling of cooked sausages, using a brine solution (5% acetic acid and 5% salt at 22-23°C and pH ∼2.70), was validated for the reduction of spoilage microorganisms by inoculating sausages with select LAB (6.98 log₁₀ CFU/g), yeasts (4.49 log₁₀ CFU/g), and molds (4.29 log₁₀ CFU/g) over 28 days of pickling. The results revealed reductions of 5.51 log₁₀ CFU/g in 24 h for LAB counts, 3.89 log₁₀ CFU/g in 48 h for yeast counts, and 4.09 log₁₀ CFU/g in 24 h for mold counts. To our knowledge, this experiment is the first to demonstrate that cold fill pickling effectively reduces and inhibits spoilage microorganisms.