Flavour Science: Chapter 120. Monitoring of Bacteria Causing Off-Flavors in Bologna-Type Sausages by SPME-GC-MS

Bologna-type sausage, a cooked and sliced meat product packed in a modified atmosphere, is one of the most consumed meat products in Europe. The thermal treatment eliminates most of the microorganisms present. Recontamination occurs during slicing and packaging. The formation of off-odors during the spoilage depends on the bacterial flora present and the storage conditions. In practice, decisions on the tradability of the product are based on time-consuming microbiological techniques (total plate counts). The development of multivariate models based on microbiological, various GC, and sensory data sets should enable very fast quality assessments by the prediction of the freshness with a single GC run.