Use of Bacteriocinogenic Pediococcus acidilactici in Sausage Fermentation

The bacteriocin produced by Pediococcus acidilactici KFRI 168 exhibited a wide antimicrobial spectrum including many strains of lactic acid bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecium by both disk and deferred assay methods. Inhibition of Lis. monocytogenes and Stph. aureus were observed only from deferred assay. Gram-negative bacteria were not inhibited. Bacteriocin production was observed at 10 h, and was maximized at 16 h in MRS broth incubated at $37^{\circ}C$. In a beaker sausage fermented with P. acidilactici KFRI 168, viable counts of Stph. aureus, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Lis. monocytogenes were reduced by 2.8, 2.3, 2.4, 0.7, and 0.5 log CFU/g, respectively. Inoculated P. acidilactici KFRI 168 maintained its viable count of more than $10^8$ CFU/g during the whole fermentation period, and it took less than 8 h to reduce sausage pH below 5.