Browsing by Author "Lundström, Hanna-Saara"

The levels of lactic acid bacteria in some of the most commonly used spices and in some marinades used in meat processing in Finland were enumerated. The spices and herbs studied included black pepper, white pepper, allspice, rosé pepper, green pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, cinnamon, ginger and garlic. The spices added to the marinades were not known in detail due to trademark protection reasons. The method employed in this study was the Determination of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Meat and Meat Products, issued by the Nordic Committee on Food Analysis. However, the temperature used in the incubation of the samples was 25oC. The samples were also enriched in MRS-S-broth. Lactic acid bacteria were found either in low numbers or not at all in most samples, usually less than 100 CFU/g or /ml. Relatively high concentrations were found in samples of allspice (up to 4.3 ' 105 CFU/g) and from some of the white and black peppers (up to 2.0 ' 104 CFU/g). In the marinades, highest levels of bacteria were detected in the sweet and sour type of marinade (highest level found: 8.0 ' 105 CFU/ml), whereas nearly all samples of honey and tomato flavored marinades showed lower levels of lactic acid bacteria (1.0 ' 102 - 2.5 ' 103 CFU/ml). Based on these results spices may well be considered a source of lactic acid bacterium contamination. It also appears that even if meat does not contain relevant numbers of lactic acid bacteria, the marinade added to the product may contaminate it. This may lead to spoilage problems during storage.