Abstract: In order to explore the spoilage characteristics of dominant spoilage bacteria, Pseudomonas spp., Brochothrix thermosphacta and Enterbacteriaceae were inoculated into sterilized pork at different storage temperatures of 4, 0 ℃ and－5 ℃. Sensory evaluation score, aerobic bacteria count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) value and thio-barbituric acid (TBA) value were determined on each storage day. Bacterial poilage capability was evaluated based on TVB-N production factor Y(TVB-N/CFU), which was calculated from TVB-N value divided by colony forming unit (CFU). The results indicated that strong spoilage odor occurred on the 5th storage day. The counts of B. thermosphacta in thawed pork were 11.28 lg(CFU/g), 9.36 lg(CFU/g) and 6.62 lg(CFU/g) at storage temperatures of 4, 0 ℃ and －5 ℃, respectively; while TVB-N values were 14.92, 14.50 mg/100g and 9.10 mg/100g, according to relative storage conditions. Similarly, the counts of Pseudomonas spp. were 9.46 lg(CFU/g), 8.87 lg(CFU/g) and 5.37 lg(CFU/g) under the storage temperature of 4, 0 ℃ and －5 ℃, respectively; while TVB-N values were 21.59, 14.49 mg/100g and 8.97 mg/100 g, respectively. This study showed that B. thermosphacta and Pseudomonas spp. were dominant in thawed pork, with significantly stronger spoilage capability than others dominant bacteria.

Key words: thawed pork, dominant spoilage bacteria, spoilage capability