Table 1 shows the recipe used to prepare the experimental batches of fresh Tuscan sausage.
MIC values determined in vitro ranged from 1.25 to 10 g/L of EO.
However, preliminary sensory studies indicated that the application of bay leaf EO at concentrations higher than 0.1 g/100 g would result in unacceptable products (results not shown).
For this reason, the concentrations of 0.1 and 0.05 g/100 g of EO were applied to the sausages.
Each experimental batch was prepared with 4 kg of meat batter, which was prepared with pork meat and pork backfat comminuted using an electric meat grinder (PCP 98M, Metalúrgica Siemsen, Brusque, Brazil) with an 8 mm die.
Bay leaf EO was mixed with salt before being mixed with other ingredients.
All dry ingredients were manually mixed with the meat batter in sterile plastic containers.
Then, the sausage batter was stuffed in natural casings made of pig intestine.
Sausage portions of approximately 200 g (two sausages) were placed on styrofoam trays, covered with a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film, identified and stored at 7 C.
Therewere three replicates per treatment and the experiment was performed three times
(n = 9).