Antimicrobial Effects of Black Cumin (Nigella Sativa) Oil in Nitrite Reduced Sausage

This study was aimed to investigate the antimicrobial effects of black cumin oil in sausage and evaluate the possibility of reduction of its nitrite. For this purpose, sausage samples were prepared at concentrations of 2 and 3 percent of black cumin oil containing various amounts of nitrite (including 0,30,60,90 ppm) in eight treatments and a control sample without black cumin oil and with 120 ppm nitrite and all stored for a month at 4°C. Then microbial properties of all samples such as total bacterial counts, coliforms, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, yeasts and moulds were examined on 1, 11, 21 and 31 days of storage time and organoleptic properties were evaluated after production of samples. The results showed that treatments containing 2 and 3 percent of black cumin oil with 90 ppm and 60 ppm nitrite, mainly had total bacterial counts, coliforms counts, E.coli, S.aureus, yeasts and moulds counts similar to those had control sample during the storage. But these microbial counts showed significant increase in all the samples at the end of the storage period (P