Plasmid profiles of lactic acid bacteria associated with vacuum-packaged vienna sausage manufacture and spoilage

Plasmid profiles of lactic acid bacteria from spoiled vacuum-packaged vienna sausages (61) and the corresponding manufacturing environment (50) were determined to assess the use of this technique for pinpointing sources of spoilage populations. Although plasmids were present in >60% of the strains, no profiles were common to these two groups. The occurrence of specific individual plasmids in several isolates from the spoilage population may, however, be useful in diagnosing the spoilage potential of individual strains.