Effect of inoculating Lactobacillus sakei strains alone or together with Staphylococcus xylosus on microbiological, physicochemical, fatty acid profile, and sensory quality of Tunisian dry‐fermented sausage

The use of starter cultures in the industrial manufacture of meat products has become common practice. We have investigated the use of Lactobacillus sakei F, isolated from a commercial starter culture, and Lactobacillus sakei 23K, from a French sausage, alone or together with Staphyloccus xylosus , as starter cultures, during the industrial manufacture of Tunisian dry‐fermented sausages. Samples from the same raw matter were collected after up to 45 days of maturation and were subjected to microbiological, physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory analyses. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the use of L. sakei F or L. sakei 23K as starter strains produced a fermented sausage with similar or even better quality than sausages fermented with L. sakei 23K +  S. xylosus or the commercial starter. Our study found that L. sakei 23K could have a great potential for use as a starter culture during the commercial production of dry‐fermented sausage. Novelty impact statementLactobacillus sakei F and 23K strains can be used alone or in association with Staphylococcus xylosus as starter cultures for the manufacture of Tunisian dry‐fermented sausages. Sausages produced with L. sakei F and 23K strains display better nutritional and sensory profiles, compared with the non‐inoculated controls, as well as sausages inoculated with the commercial starter culture.