Defined starter cultures used for fermentation of salmon fillets

The integration of defined starter cultures into a fish fermentation process was studied. Six lactobacilli and 5 staphylococci strains were tested in a salmon model system. Dependence of bacterial growth and pH reduction on sucrose, NaCl and sodium nitrite concentrations, and fermentation temperature was evaluated. A combination of Lactobacillus sake and Staphylococcus carnosus was then applied to whole salmon fillets to which NaCl and sucrose had been added. The influence of sucrose and NaCl concentrations, temperature and the addition of sodium nitrite on pH, color and microbiological stability was evaluated. Optimal conditions were 25g·kg^-1 NaCl, 15g·kg^-1 sucrose, fermentation at 12°C for 3 days, subsequent storage at 4°C.