This study adds texture to Part 2 of the old saying “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made”:
“Characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from infant faeces as potential probiotic starter cultures for fermented sausages,” Raquel Rubio, Anna Jofré [pictured here], Belén Martín, Teresa Aymerich, Margarita Garriga, Food Microbiology, epub August 14, 2013. (Thanks to investigators Paul Coxon and Neil Withers for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at IRTA-Food Safety Programme, Girona, Spain, report:
•Lactobacillus gasseri and Enterococcus faecalis were the main species in infant faeces.
• RAPD-PCR discriminated 60 profiles out of 109 LAB isolates.
•Six of 109 LAB isolated from infants were qualified as potential probiotics.
•Selected lactobacilli were assayed as starter cultures in model sausages.
•Three of the selected strains were effective meat starter cultures.
Here’s sausage-making detail from the paper:
