As an ethnic food, investigation of the microbiological quality of camel sucuk

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the microbiological quality of camel sausages produced in Incirliova district of Aydin province in November-February of 2021-2022, which have recently received geographical indication. Materials and Methods: The presence of microorganisms was investigated by analyzing a total of 100 samples, 50 of which were fermented and 50 heat-treated sausages produced by heat treatment, produced by the classical method collected from the borders of Incirliova, in the laboratory environment. Total Viable Bacteria (TVC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast-mold, Micrococcus/Staphylococcus, coliform bacteria group, Escherichia coli (E. coli) numbers and Salmonella spp. existence was investigated. The data were evaluated using SPSS Version 22 software. Since the bacterial contamination data of fermented and heat-treated sausages did not show normal distribution, they were compared using the Mann Whitney U test. Salmonella spp. was compared with the chi-square test whether there was a difference in terms of presence or not. Results: The TVC results obtained in the study for fermented camel sausage (50/50) 7.76 ± 0.13 and heat-treated camel sausage (46/50) were 5.73 ± 0.40 log cfu/g and were statistically significant (p <0.001). The average LAB results were 7.56 ± 0.17 log cfu/g for fermented camel sausage (50/50) and 5.04 ± 0.52 log cfu/g for heat-treated camel sausage (46/50). There is a statistically significant difference between these values (p<0.001). When yeast and mold numbers are evaluated, it is 4.90 ± 0.11 and 3.63 ± 0.35 log cfu/g for fermented camel sausage (50/50) and heat-treated camel sausage (15/50), respectively, which is statistically significant (p<0.001). When Micrococcus/Staphylococcus results and presence were evaluated, values of 5.18 ± 0.05 and 3.54 ± 0.43 log cfu/g were reached for fermented camel sausage (50/50) and heat-treated camel sausage (45/50), respectively. The difference between these values is statistically significant (p<0.001). When the presence of coliform group bacteria is evaluated, it is 3.69 ± 0.13 and 3.70 ± 0.91 log cfu/g for fermented camel sausage (50/50) and heat-treated camel sausage (10/50), respectively. No statistical difference was found (p>0.05). When the E.coli contamination level was evaluated, it was found above the detectable level in only three of the heat-treated sausage samples, and the difference between fermented sausage samples and the heat-treated sausage samples could not be evaluated statistically. E. coli values of 3.35 ± 0.14 and 1.87 ± 0.29 log cfu/g were found for fermented camel sausage (24/50) and heat-treated camel sausage (3/50), respectively. It was determined that Salmonella spp. in the collected sausage samples was 18% in fermented camel sausage (7/50), 14% in heat treated camel sausage (8/50). Conclusion: In the samples of camel sausage, results different from the desired values were found in the Turkish Food Codex data. It has been concluded that in order to prevent possible contamination, it is necessary to implement HACCP systems as well as good production and good hygiene practices.