The purpose of this work was to produce a starter culture with a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum in a porcine plasma culture medium and ascertain the viability of applying it in salami sausage. The culture medium was prepared with porcine plasma and distilled water (1:1, pH 11.0). After sterilization, 300 mL were added of 400 mL of a sterile solution of glucose and potassium diphosphate. The Lb. plantarum strain was inoculated into the culture medium and subjected to fermentation at pH 7.0 for 36 hours (100 rpm, 37 ± 0.1 °C). When the stationary phase was reached, the culture was centrifuged and resuspensed in sterile skimmed milk, lyophilized and applied to salami. An evaluation was made of the influence of the inoculum on the microbiological, physicochemical and sensorial characteristics of salami sausages. The results were compared with treatments without the addition of starter culture and with a commercial culture. The microorganism Lb. plantarum showed a maximum growth of 9.82 Log UFC.mL-1 after 30 hours of fermentation. The salami sausages prepared with the starter culture produced in this study showed a significantly greater drop in pH and lower water activity than the other treatments. The microorganism Lb. plantarum improved the flavor of the salami sausages considerably.
starter culture; porcine plasma; salami sausage
