ABSTRACT
There is no clear agreed legal international definition of fermented sausages. The Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations (FAO) document on Raw-Fermented Sausages notes that “Raw-fermented sausages receive their characteristic properties (tangy flavour, in most cases chewy texture, intense red curing colour) through fermentation processes, which are generated through physical and chemical conditions created in raw meat mixes filled into casings. Typical raw-fermented sausages are uncooked meat products and consist of coarse mixtures of lean meats and fatty tissues combined with salts, nitrite (curing agent), sugars and spices as non-meat ingredients. In most products, uniform fat particles can clearly be distinguished as white spots embedded in dark-red lean meat, with particle sizes varying between 2-12 mm depending on the product. In addition to fermentation, ripening phases combined with moisture reduction are necessary to buildup the typical flavour and texture of the final product. The need for moisture reduction requires the utilization of water-vapour permeable casings. The products are not subjected to any heat treatment during processing and are in most cases distributed and consumed raw” (Heintz and Hautzinger 2010).
