Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of fermented camel sucuks and their hygienic status. In order to determine the hygienic status of sucuks, the study investigated the presence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes, and carried out counts of Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Analyses were performed on 40 sucuks collected from different production and retail outlets in the Aydın province of Turkey. The physicochemical characteristics of the samples were generally within legal limits (except for the pH results). S. aureus and B. cereus were detected in 9 (22.5%) and 24 (60%) of sucuks, respectively. The counts of B. cereus in 9 sucuks and S. aureus in 5 sucuks were found to have exceeded the acceptable limits. E. coli counts were below the detection limit in all sucuks. Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not detected in any of the sucuks. The pH was negatively correlated with the counts of lactic acid bacteria and positively correlated with the pathogenic bacteria counts. The fat content had a significant effect on TBARS, cholesterol, energy and color values. Study results demonstrated that some sucuks were of insufficient hygienic quality and may have posed a hazard to consumer health.
Keywords:
fermented sausage; camel meat; consumer health; quality characteristics
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