LIPOLYTIC AND MICROBIAL CHANGES DURING THE NATURAL FERMENTATION AND RIPENING OF GREEK DRY SAUSAGES

The hydrolytic changes in the lipid fraction and the changes in microbial growth during the natural fermentation and ripening of Greek dry sausages were studied. Two batches were manufactured under industrial conditions, without the addition of starter cultures. The results of the microbiological analyses indicated that, among the micro-organisms well known for their lipolytic activity, micrococci were predominant during the whole fermentation-ripening process. It was shown that the fatty acid composition of the hydrolysed lipid fraction did not remain constant with time. Analysis of the experimental results indicated that, given the length of the aliphatic chain (16 or 18 carbon atoms), the more unsaturated fatty acids were hydrolysed in preference to the saturated homologues. On the other hand, fatty acids having 16 carbon atoms were hydrolysed in preference to the iso-unsaturated ones having 18 carbon atoms.