Creatine blooms on the surface of prepacked fermented sausages

Undesired coatings have been repeatedly observed on the surface of prepacked raw fermented sausages. In some cases d,l-lactate was identified as a major component of these blooms. We now for the first time identified meat-borne creatine as the source of white crystalline blooms on prepacked thin-calibre dry raw sausages. The mass spectra of the blooms and of authentic creatine monohydrate were essentially identical. The coatings contained 83% creatine corresponding to 94% crystalline creatine monohydrate. The creatine concentration in the sausages was 2.4 mg/g. For the detection of creatine in white sausage blooms a rapid test based on the VOGES-PROSKAUER reaction is suggested.