Selection of Debaryomyces hansenii isolates to improve quality of dry fermented sausage

The objective of this experiment was to select D. hansenii isolates that are stable in dry fermented sausage (DFS) production and can positively affect the quality. D. hansenii isolates were examined for production of biogenic amines, β-glucuronidase, β-glucosidase, proteolytic, and lipolytic enzymatic activities. The acid and salt tolerance of D. hansenii isolates were also examined. DFS inoculated with selected D. hansenii isolates were analyzed for microorganisms, weight loss, Aw, and pH. DFS was also subjected to analyses of color, texture profile, reducing sugar, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), lipid oxidation, and free fatty acid. Twenty-two D. hansenii isolates were isolated. None of these D. hansenii isolates produced biogenic amines, and all strains were negative for β-glucuronidase and β-glucosidase activities. After examining these strains for proteolysis, lipolysis, and salt and acid tolerance, D. hansenii isolates SMFM2021-C14, SMFM2021-S8, and SMFM2021-SL3 were selected to be used in DFS. During the processing of DFS, the groups treated with D. hansenii isolate SMFM2021-S8 or SMFM2021-SL3 showed lower (p < .05) hardness values of DFS. The sample treated with D. hansenii SMFM2021-S8 showed lower (p < .05) VBN and lipid oxidation contents than the others. The ratio of ω-6/ω-3 was lower (p < .05) in D. hansenii SMFM2021-SL3 treated group than in the other treatments. These results indicate that D. hansenii isolates SMFM2021-S8 and SMFM2021-SL3 might be useful in producing DFS to improve its quality.