Don’t Judge a Sausage by Its Cover: Effects of Inoculating Three Indigenous Lactic Acid Bacteria on Quality, Moisture Distribution, and Protein Structure in Fermentation

To produce products with standardized and optimal technical performance, probiotics, particularly Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), have long been utilized as fermentation starters in sausages, ensuring both the standardization and enhancement of product quality and safety. Microorganisms isolated from traditional meat products, due to their excellent adaptability to the fermentation environment and their ability to preserve desirable flavor, exhibit high potential as candidates for meat fermentation starters. Three indigenous LAB strains—Latilactobacillus sakei, Pediococcus pentosaceus, and Weissella cibaria, isolated from Yunnan ham—were applied in the fermentation of beef sausages to investigate the underlying factors responsible for quality changes. The results indicated that sausages fermented with L. sakei and P. pentosaceus exhibited the lowest pH (4.98) and aw (0.79), while displaying significantly higher hardness, cohesiveness, and chewiness. Additionally, LF-NMR measurements showed that L. sakei and P. pentosaceus promoted the transfer of immobilized water to free water, facilitating the drying and maturation process. Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed a reduction in α-helix content and an increase in disordered β-sheet and β-turn structures in the secondary protein structure. These findings suggest that L. sakei and P. pentosaceus improved quality attributes by modifying the secondary protein structure to enhance water migration and accelerate the ripening process. L. sakei and P. pentosaceus demonstrated desirable technological characteristics, indicating their efficacy for use in fermented sausage production. This study provides valuable insights into improving the production of fermented sausages using specific LAB strains.