The Prevalence of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Sausages at Khartoum State

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are useful microorganisms. They have been used in food preparation thousands of years ago. A total of 40 fresh sausage samples were collected randomly from 8 sources in Khartoum State, Sudan. These sources include (a) butcheries in Khartoum, Khartoum North, and Omdurman, (b) factory- processed sausages at retail outlets and (c) home-made sausages. The sausage samples were studied to count and identify LAB species associated with sausages samples. LAB counts were carried out on de Man and Rogosa (MRS) agar medium. The pure isolates of LAB isolates were characterized by using morphological properties, biochemical tests and their ability to ferment different sugars. The mean counts of LAB in butcheries samples ranged from 9.30x106cfu/g to 3.64x 107cfu/g, which was higher than the mean of factory-processed sausages (mean 2.12 x 105cfu/g - 4.41 x 106cfu/g), which was, in turn, higher than the load shown by home-made sausages (mean 5.04 x 105cfu/g). LAB isolates were identified as Streptococcus cremoris (40 % of isolates), Enterococcus faecalis (20 %), Lactobacillus acidophilus (15 %), Lactobacillus delbruckii subsp. lactis (10 %), Lactobacillus delbruckii subsp. Bulgaricus (7.5 %), Lactobacillus jenseny, Lactobacillus vitulinus, and Streptococcus avium, each representing 2.5 % of the isolates. The high counts of LAB and the prevalence of beneficial LAB in sausage samples make this product a good source for industrial LAB which can be applied in the production of a wide range of fermented foods and pharmaceuticals.