Fermented meat products: Organoleptic qualities and biogenic amines-A review

Fermented foods are value added products which have higher nutrients, prolong shelf life and easy in digestibility and are more suitable for the intestinal tract. The organoleptic qualities of such foods are higher particularly in terms of flavour, taste, aroma and colour. For the production of fermented products we require starter culture such as Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) strains, most of the meat starter cultures are Lactobacillus pentosus, L. casei L. curvetus, L. planterum, L. sakei, Pediococcus acidilactici and P. pentosaceus. These foods are also able to produce certain biogenic amines; the most commonly found biogenic amines in the meat and meat products are tyramine, cadaverine, putrescine and also histamine. The formation of such bioamines further enhances the functional properties of the foods besides addition in nutrients. © 2012 Academic Journals Inc.