The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of the application of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from kimchi as a starter culture in the production of fermented sausages. To achieve this, a submerged model medium that contained LAB as part of a complex system of kimchi (0.5, 1.0, 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0%) and lyophilized kimchi powder (0.2 and 0.5%) was fermented for 120 h. During the fermentation period, the growth of total viable organisms and LAB, and the changes in the pH and the titratable acidity, were investigated. The initial LAB counts ranged from 6.4 to 7.7 Log CFU/mL for the kimchi media, and from 6.9 to 6.9 Log CFU/mL for the kimchi powder media. In all the kimchi batches, the LAB increased logarithmically, and the highest LAB counts (around 9 Log CFU/mL) were reached in 24 h. An evident lag phase of the LAB was observed in the kimchi powder samples and reached 8.8 Log CFU/mL in 8 h. The decrease in the pH and the formation of lactic acid were rapid in the kimchi batches, and reached pH values of 3.4-3.5 in 12 h. With these results, the LAB that was integrated with the addition of kimchi or kimchi powder demonstrated its potential utility as a substitute for starter culture.

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