he purpose of this study was to select a lactic acid bacterial strain for use as a starter culture for producing
fermented meat products and for evaluating the survival ability in the gastrointestinal tract. Five
strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from funazushi, a traditional fermented fish product in Japan,
and their bile and simulated digestive juice tolerances were evaluated to screen their survival in gastrointestinal
tracts. Growth in a ground meat patty was evaluated by counting viable cells and measuring pH.
Lactobacillus plantarum JAB2001 was capable of growth on 10 % NaCl and exhibited tolerance to bile acids
and simulated gastrointestinal juices. After incubation with this strain at 25℃ for 48 h a ground beef
patty showed pH values of about 4.8 and lactic acid bacterial counts at the 109
level per gram of patty.
Coliform bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus were unable to proliferate in the meat patty with strain JAB
2001, which is thus suitable for use as a starter culture of fermented meat products.