Influence of Raw Ingredients, Nitrite Levels, and Cooking Temperatures on the Microbiological Quality of Braunschweiger

Of the main ingredients (pork liver, pork‐trim, and salt‐spice mixture) used for manufacturing braunschweiger, pork liver had the most influence on the microbial numbers in the raw emulsion. The microflora of the raw sausage emulsion consisted mainly of entero‐cocci, bacilli, lactobacilli, and pediococci. At 5°C, the raw emulsion underwent souring within 4 wk. Freshly cooked liver sausage usually contained 10 3 organism/g; the most frequently recovered bacteria, in this instance, were bacilli, enterococci, and pediococci. Nitrite was effective in inhibiting growth of enterococci capable of producing a perfumy odor in liver sausage. Sausage made from raw emulsion of good bacterial quality and stored at 5°C had a shelf life exceeding 16 wk.