Microbiological studies of ethnic meat products of the Eastern Himalayas

Native microorganisms from some ethnic meat products of the Eastern Himalayas such as lang kargyong, yak kargyong, faak kargyong, lang satchu, yak satchu and suka ko masu were isolated and characterized. The bacterial isolates included Lactobacillus sake, Lactobacillus curvatus, Lactobacillus divergens, Lactobacillus carnis, Lactobacillus sanfrancisco, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus brevis, Enterococcus faecium, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceous, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus lentus and Bacillus licheniformis, Micrococcus and Staphylococcus. Yeast isolates included Debaryomyces hansenii, Debaryomyces polymorphus, Debaryomyces pseudopolymorphus, Pichia burtonii, Pichia anomala, Candida famata and the mould Rhizopus was also identified. Many of the LAB isolates demonstrated some antimicrobial activity, enzymatic activity and a few showed a high degree of hydrophobicity. None of the strains produced biogenic amines.