A total of 240 kg of low fat salami batter was prepared according
to the specifications of a local manufacturer (North Italy) by mixing
minced pork meat (75%) and pork lard (14%) refrigerated at
0e7 ± 2 C. During mixing, potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate
(0.03% both), commercial starter culture (Clerici-Sacco, Como, Italy)
containing lyophilized microbial cultures of Staphylococcus xylosus
and Lactobacillus sakei (6 log cfu g1 each), sodium chloride (3%),
mixture of dextrose and sucrose (1.3%), ascorbic acid and flavouring,
were added. The batter was mixed at room temperature
(22 ± 2 C) for 5 min and stuffed into natural casings (in cotton,
with a diameter of 18 cm) perforated with fine needles to promote
the drying process. The length of the salami was about 40 cm and
due to its elliptical shape, the heightwas about 10 cm.