(P N 0.05) were observed among sausages containing nitrate/nitrite,
these batches differed from the control one. The inhibitory effect of
nitrite was exerted during the first days of ripening. S. Typhimurium
rapidly grew during the fermentation stage from initial levels of
3 log cfu/g to approximately 5.5 log cfu/g in batch C, while in the
presence of nitrate/nitrite, numbers increased only by 1 log cfu/g. A
slight increase was also observed in control sausages at day 12.
Afterwards, Salmonella counts followed a decreasing trend along
ripening in all batches, with similar death rates for all curves. Only the
sausages added with nitrate/nitrite showed final levels lower than the
initial ones, due to the lower levels of Salmonella reached during
fermentation. At the end of the ripening, counts were approximately
2–2.5 log cfu/g higher in batch C than in nitrate/nitrite added sausages.
At the end of storage, Salmonella was only detected in the control
samples at a concentration of approximately 2 log cfu/g.