Full Length Research Paper

Microbiological and physicochemical characterization of the natural fermented camel meat sausage

Jazila El Malti* and Hamid Amarouch

Laboratoire de Microbiologie Biotechnologie pharmacologie et Environnement, Université Hassan II - Aïn Chock, Faculté des Sciences, km 8 route d’El Jadida BP. 5366, Casablanca, Morocco.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: eljazila@yahoo.fr Tel: +(212) 22 23 06 80/84.

Fax: +(212) 22 23 06 74.

Accepted 14 May, 2007

In this study, fermentation of camel meat was followed by microbiological and physicochemical analyses. The sausages were characterized by the presence of lactic acid bacteria that resulted in a product with a final pH of about 5.06. No Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and sulfite reducing clostridia were ever isolated from the raw materials or the fermented sausages during the maturation, underlining the safety of this product. The final water activity of the product was 0.91. Identification showed that the majority of lactobacilli isolated from MRS agar strains were assigned to Lactobacillus plantarum.

Key words: Biopreservation, spices, fermented sausages, physicochemical profile.