Enhanced safety of Norwegian type dry fermented sausage with focus on enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

This project concerns safe production of Norwegian type dry fermented sausages (DFS). Two outbreaks in Norway this year, caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Salmonella Kedougou in DFS, emphasize the need to focus on enhanced safety of such products. Outbreaks may cause severe consequences for the persons affected and the costs for the society are high. In addition, the costs for the meat industry can be huge. It is estimated that current costs for the company involved in the EHEC outbr eak are appr. 90 mill. NOK. The project will focus on production process strategies to reduce survival of, or eliminate, EHEC in DFS. The project is divided in 4 workpackages: 1. Selected EHEC strains of different types will be characterized, in vitro an d in meat, in terms of their response to conditions of DFS production processes. The understanding of the stress responses and survival of different EHEC strains will lead to predictions on how the production process can be optimized. 2. In a small scale model, the survival of EHEC strains will be monitored during production and storage of representative DFS types. The recipes and process conditions will be systematically modified, based on results of the characterization and using advanced experimental d esign. Relevant parameters are salt, sugar, pH, aw, time, humidity, temperature and starter culture. 3. The project will evaluate methods for elimination of EHEC in DFS, previously not used in Norway for DFS production, such as high-pressure processing an d heat treatment. 4. Implementation part focusing on pilot/industrial scale production using modified recipes and processes developed in small scale. Products, subsequently produced in a larger scale will be subjected to both sensory analysis and consume r preference tests. Finally, cost estimations of implementation will be made. A PhD student will be engaged and will work mainly with the strain characterization and the systematic modification of the processes