Title: Effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the survival and growth of some food-borne pathogens in fermenting wakalim, a traditional Ethiopian fermented beef sausage

Authors: Ketema Bacha; Tetemke Mehari; Mogessie Ashenafi

Addresses: Department of Biology, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Biology, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia. ' Department of Chemistry, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ' Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract: Wakalim is spiced naturally fermented traditional beef sausage in Ethiopia. During its fermentation using pure starter cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum1 or Pediococcus pentosaceus1 and mixture of the two starters, the counts of Salmonella typhimurium DT104 and Escherichia coli dropped sharply after 12 h of fermentation and complete elimination was noted on the third or fourth day. The count of Staphylococcus aureus dropped gradually but remained at < log 4 cfu/g at the end of fermentation. The pathogens were eliminated faster with the mixed cultures than with the respective pure cultures. The pH of fermenting wakalim dropped from about 6.0 to 4.5 ± 0.2 during the first 48 h of fermentation. Thereafter, the pH rose gradually in all cases possibly due to depletion of fermentable sugars and growth of proteolytic microorganisms. LAB obtained from the spontaneous fermentation of wakalim may have potential for large scale application as starter cultures.

Keywords: pathogen survival; food-borne pathogens; lactic acid bacteria; LAB; mixed culture; sausage; wakalim fermentation; Ethiopia; Salmonella typhimurium; Escherichia coli; E. coli; Staphylococcus aureus; starter cultures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFSNPH.2011.044536

International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, 2011 Vol.4 No.2/3/4, pp.140 - 151

Received: 16 Aug 2010
Accepted: 18 May 2011

Published online: 27 Nov 2014 *

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