Abstract: This study was undertaken in order to explore the changes in the microbial and physicochemical quality of low-salt Chinese bacon during storage. High-salt Chinese bacon was prepared under the same conditions and used as a control. pH, water content, water activity, salt content and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value were measured on the two samples. Meanwhile, total bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus and coliform bacteria were isolated and counted. The results showed that the two samples exhibited similar trends in each of the parameters examined. Concretely, water content, water activity and the number of lactic acid bacteria all decreased with storage time, while salt content, TBARS value, Micrococcus and Staphylococcus counts increased. The total number of colonies increased first and then decreased. Water content and total bacterial count of low-salt cured meat were higher than those of the control group, resulting in a decrease in shelf life. These results showed that reducing the salt content of Chinese bacon could cause changes in the quality and microflora during storage, while the salt content of low-salt Chinese bacon was 31.41% lower than that of the control group after the same storage period (90 days).

Key words: low-sodium Chinese bacon, storage, physical and chemical changes, microbial changes