MICROBIAL PROFILE OF SPOILAGE FLORA FROM PORK SAUSAGE STORED UNDER THREE DIFFERENT COOLER CONDITIONS

A microbial examination was made of linked pork sausage stored until off-color development in three cooler arrangements – retail display case, walk-in cooler and walk-in cooler with incandescent illumination (2,200 lumens). Ninety mesophilic and ninety psychrotrophic organisms were isolated from 9 sausage batches held under each cooler condition. Isolates were identified using standard tests for identification of bacteria. The predominate psychrotropic isolate from all three types of cooler conditions was Pseudomonas. The predominate mesophilic isolate from the cooler and the cooler with illumination was Lactobacillus while the predominate mesophilic isolates from the retail display case were Enterobactericeae. High product holding temperatures (12°C) allows the growth of low-temperature mesophiles, such as some Enterobacteriaceae, as well as some mesophilic Pseudomonas, both of which contribute to the unacceptability of pork sausage.