Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Processing Conditions Affecting Pathogen Reduction in Dry Fermented Sausages

Dry fermented sausages (DFSs) rely on nonthermal hurdles for safety, yet the impact of pathogen control measures has not been systematically evaluated. In this review, 207 datasets from 40 challenge studies were compiled and analyzed using inactivation modeling to quantify the impact of processing conditions on pathogen reduction during DFS manufacture. Factor analysis of log reduction times was conducted to elucidate interactions of processing conditions and how they impacted pathogen inactivation. Log-reduction times (LRTs) indicated that fermentation was the step with the most rapid pathogen inactivation, yielding significantly shorter LRTs than during drying or storage. However, the level of lethality achieved during fermentation alone was generally insufficient to reach commonly used validation benchmarks for Salmonella and STEC, indicating that fermentation, while a critical processing step, cannot function as the sole safety step. Regression tree analysis identified pathogen type, water activity (A_w), nitrite/nitrate concentration, and casing diameter as major determinants of inactivation during drying. The findings of the current work address Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)-identified data gaps by quantifying pathogen inactivation across DFS processing steps and identifying the processing parameters that influence lethality, thereby supporting the development of effective multihurdle safety strategies.