Starter cultures as substitutes for meat additives

GdL is the only additive that can be completely substituted by a starter culture. Additives such as the curing agents are necessary in certain amounts in order to obtain a properly cured colour ascorbate is also necessary to support the colour formation. 

1 Acidification. The acidification course with starter cultures in sausage processing results in a lag phase of 1-2 days followed by a pH drop. The speed of the pH drop depends on parameters like salt concentration, sugar concentration, temperature and type of culture. 

In contrast, GdL may cause an almost instant pH fall as observed by Acton and Dick (1977) who demonstrated a pH drop in the meat mixture of 0.6 pH units in 15 min therefore, there is a risk that the acid coagulates the surface of the protein, resulting in a poorer solubility of the sarco- 

The rapid pH fall achieved with GdL accelerates the drying process and therefore shortens the total processing time. Due to the pH fall, GdL results in an initially firmer consistency than that obtained with starter cultures however, since this difference is levelled out during ripening no difference in consistency was demonstrated in the final product (Petaja et al., 1985). 

2 Colour. The addition of synthetic or natural colours to dry, fermented sausages results in a colour deviating from the meat colour and thus cannot be substituted by starter cultures. 

---