Biogenic amine producing capability of bacterial populations isolated during processing of different types of dry fermented sausages

In order to assess the distribution of the biogenic amine (BA) producing capability within the bacterial populations occurring during production of dry fermented sausages, four different types of sausage processing, three with the use of starter cultures and one without, were investigated. All the main bacterial populations involved in the sausage processing showed a diffuse and strain dependent capability to produce BAs. However, quantitative determination of individual BAs produced by the bacterial isolates suggests an important role of enterococci in the accumulation of tyramine, the most abundant biogenic amine found in all investigated sausages.