Effects of Starter Cultures Combination on Physicochemical Quality and Safety of Fermented Beef Jerky

The fermented beef jerky was prepared　using Lactobacillus sakei, Pediococcus pentosaceus and Staphylococcus xylose as the starter (1:2:2), and the pH, water activity, color and biological amine content of the beef jerky at different stages were measured by color difference meter and high-performance liquid phase instruments, all which aims to explore the effect of starter cultures combination on the physical and chemical quality and the composition of biological amines of fermented beef jerky. The results showed that the lactic acid bacteria in the beef jerky were rapidly transformed into the dominant bacteria group by inoculation with the compound starter, and the acidification rate was accelerated, the pH value of the LSS group was reduced to 4.43, significantly lower than that of CO (P < 0.05) at the end of fermentation. The rapid decrease of pH value promoted the rapid evaporation of water and the decrease of Aw in the beef jerky, which significantly inhibited the number of Enterobacterium and reduced it to 2.04 CFU/g in LSS. The rapid propagation of the compound starter inhibited the accumulation of putrescine and cadaverine in the beef jerky, and the contents of putrescine and cadaverine in the LSS group were significantly lower than those in the CO group (P < 0.05). With the change of processing temperature and the number of dominant bacteria, histamine was inhibited greatly, and the content of histamine in LSS group (22.56 mg/kg) added with the compound starter was only 1/2 of that in the CO group. Therefore, adding the compound starter is beneficial to shorten the processing period of fermented beef jerky and improve the product quality and safety.