Abstract: To investigate the changes in microbial community structure and flavor compounds during the cold air-drying of Sichuan-style sausage and to explore the correlation between them, this study employed high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the bacterial community structure at different drying times (0–6 d). Meanwhile, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to identify the volatile flavor compounds. Finally, Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to reveal the intrinsic relationship between microbial community dynamics and flavor formation. Results indicated that the species richness and composition of the bacterial community in Sichuan-style sausage significantly varied during the drying process. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the dominant phyla, with the relative abundance of the beneficial bacterium Staphylococcus initially increasing and subsequently decreasing as the air-drying time increased. The composition of volatile flavor compounds changed significantly during the air-drying process. Based on relative odor activity value (ROAV), 19 key volatile flavor compounds were identified including six olefinic compounds, three alcohols, four esters, and six aldehydes. The correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between Staphylococcus and the contents of certain alcohols and esters, indicating close association of Staphylococcus with the formation of flavor compounds in cold air-dried sausage.

Key words: Sichuan-style cold air-dried sausage; air-drying process; microbial community; flavor compounds; correlation