Bacteriological Study of Yellow Spots on Ham without Preservative

Abstract

Yellow spots occurred on the surface of sliced ham, which was made without sodium nitrite and stored at 4°C for 2 to 3 weeks. Abundunt lactococci and lactobacilli were predominantly isolated from those spots.
Fresh sliced ham without the preservative was spotted with these 127 coccus and 74 bacillus strains, and then incubated at 4°C or 20°C. The yellow spots were reproduced on the ham by 34 lactococci, suggesting that these lactoc6cci were closely associated with the yellow spots on the ham.
The 34 yellow spot reproducing lactococci and 11 nonreproducing lactococci were all Leuconostoc sp., Which grew at 4°C, but not at 30°C. These strains were subdivided into three groups, i.e., Lemonostoc groups A, B and C.
The phenotypical characteristics of Leuconostoc guorp B to fermentize carbohydrates was identical to that of Lemconostoc pseudomesenteroides JCM 9696^T. This group included 28 yellow spot reproducing strains and 2 nonreproducing strains. Leuconstoc group A fermentized amygdalin, and included 6 reproducing strains and l nonreproducing strains. Leuconostoc group C fermentized amygdalin but not mannitol, and included 1 reproducing and 8 nonreproducing strains.