Introduction
Fermented sausages originated from Mediterranean countries and have been produced since Roman times. A large variety of fermented sausages exist. Due to their combination of growth hurdles such as low pH and low water activity (aw)
Due to these outbreaks some countries have imposed regulations on sausage production. For example, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service requires that the production process for fermented products must give a 5 log10 reduction of Escherichia coli