The effects of different processing conditions on biogenic amine formation and some qualitative properties in pastırma.

Pastırma, a Turkish dry-cured meat product, was cured at two different temperatures (4 or 10 °C) with two different curing agents (150 mg/kg NaNO2 or 300 mg/kg KNO3). The aim of this research was to determine the effects of these factors on biogenic amine content and other qualitative properties (pH, aw, color, residual nitrite, TBARS, NPN-M, microbiological properties). Residual nitrite was below 10 mg/kg in all samples. Both the curing agent and temperature were found to have a very significant effect on the TBARS value, and the curing agent had a significant effect on the NPN-M content. Curing at 10 °C increased the L* value; the use of nitrate increased the a* value. The use of nitrite had a negative effect on the growth of lactic acid bacteria. Micrococcus/Staphylococcus showed good growth in the presence of nitrate. In all samples, Enterobacteriaceae counts were below detectable levels. Neither temperature nor curing agent had significant effects on the amounts of tryptamine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, or spermine. There were very significant effects of temperature on the amount of putrescine and of the curing agent on the amount of spermidine.