Our starter culture partner, Sacco, has a comprehensive range of cultures for the fermented meat sector. These cultures are sold under the Lyocarni brand name.

Starter cultures have been used to produce fermented meats for many years. The main cultures used are:

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB)

LAB are applied primarily due to the technological changes they bring about as a result of acid production. The acid produced brings about a decline in pH that influences the water binding capacity, enhances the drying process, and generates the desired texture of the salami. Furthermore, the lowering of pH will also positively influence the colour formation and inhibit unwanted indigenous bacteria thus increasing product safety.

Staphylococci

The purpose for applying staphylococci is their ability to produce valuable enzymes involved in colour formation and colour stability. Furthermore, staphylococci possess lipolytic and proteolytic activities involved in aroma formation. As staphylococci are sensitive to decline in pH the activity is less evident in fast fermented sausages compared to traditional fermented ones.

Staphylococci produce the enzyme nitrate reductase which is able to reduce nitrate to nitrite. The colour formation is a result of transformation of the muscular meat pigment, myoglobin, together with nitric oxide (NO) formed from nitrite, into the stable dark-red fermented meat colour, nitrosomyoglobin. This process is enhanced by the addition of ascorbate as an antioxidant/reductant.

Colour stability may be threatened by hydrogen peroxide, produced by many bacteria, as it may result in discolouration and accelerated rancidity. Also the oxygen consumption by starter cultures resulting in lowering in redox potential influences the colour stability of salami.

Together with proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes present in meat staphylococci are important for in the aroma formation in salami.

Anti-Listeria Cultures

LAB also possess the ability to generate a number of antimicrobial compounds including class IIa bacteriocins. These are small, heat-stable, antimicrobial peptides that inhibit growth of closely related bacterial species. Class IIa bacteriocins act by binding to specific receptor on the cell wall of the susceptible host and making the receptive cell membranes become permeable, thus killing the cell. L. monocytogenes has been shown to be very receptive to class IIa bacteriocins. Thus making LAB producing bacteriocins a potentially very useful food safety tool for fermented meat manufacturers. 

Bacteriocin sensitivity 

Bacteriocins often have a narrow inhibitory spectrum and the commonly used starter cultures in the fermented meat industry are not inhibited by the bacteriocins that kill Listeria. By combining different bacteriocin producing LAB strains may help in counteracting the possible development of resistance mechanisms in Listeria. 

Lyocarni range of meat cultures with added safety 

Sacco has developed a broad range of LAB strains that produce bacteriocins for use in fermented meat products. These strains are combined with other functional strains to ensure that the desired technological and sensory properties of the product are also attained