The inoculation with a low-LAB + CNC cultured had a poor contribution to the reddening, since the mean scores for a lean colour were similar (p > 0.05) for both treatments, which agrees with the reflectance data. The addition of red colouring could hinder panellists’ appreciation of colour changes resulting out of the ripening differences. As regards texture, the Started salami was scored as being harder and less juicy (p > 0.05) than the Control salami. These changes in firmness may be explained by the differences in the fall in pH during the drying stage, since no correlation (p > 0.05) was found between the LAB counts and texture scores. Despite the difficulty in identifying the sensory contribution of starter cul- tures interacting with spontaneous microflora, the results suggest that the addition of a low dose of L. sakei and P. pentosaceus combined with a high dose of S. carnosus and K. varians would improve the eating quality of salami, in particular the odour and flavour.