Sucuk, Turkish-Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Effect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on Its Microbiological, Physicochemical, and Chemical Properties
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe article submitted to Applied Microbiology intitled “Sucuk, Turkish Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Ef-2 fect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on the Microbiological, Physicochemical and Chemical Changes” is a confirmatory study os the effects of bioprotective cultures on several parameters of a Turkish meat product made from beef.
Still the “innovative” character of this work is limited, I consider the article interesting to be published due to the confirmatory nature itself, that allows the industry to increase their beliefs on the interest of using this type of microbial cultures. Additionally, the lion’s part of the research on fermented and bio protected meat products were made with pork products. Thus, this insight to a product made from beef is very welcomed.
The article uses a simple methodology, that is adequate to fulfill the objectives. The experiment has a correct design with three repetitions that supported the statistical analysis.
English is not my natural language. Taking that into consideration I consider the language adequate for an international journal, still there are small writing aspects that can be improved in the production phase of the article.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThere are only small aspects that can be improved in the production phase of the article
Author Response
Comments 1:The article submitted to Applied Microbiology intitled “Sucuk, Turkish Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Ef-2 fect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on the Microbiological, Physicochemical and Chemical Changes” is a confirmatory study os the effects of bioprotective cultures on several parameters of a Turkish meat product made from beef.
Still the “innovative” character of this work is limited, I consider the article interesting to be published due to the confirmatory nature itself, that allows the industry to increase their beliefs on the interest of using this type of microbial cultures. Additionally, the lion’s part of the research on fermented and bio protected meat products were made with pork products. Thus, this insight to a product made from beef is very welcomed.
The article uses a simple methodology, that is adequate to fulfill the objectives. The experiment has a correct design with three repetitions that supported the statistical analysis.
English is not my natural language. Taking that into consideration I consider the language adequate for an international journal, still there are small writing aspects that can be improved in the production phase of the article.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
There are only small aspects that can be improved in the production phase of the article
Response 1:
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you very much for your thorough and thoughtful review of our manuscript titled “Sucuk, Turkish Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Effect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on the Microbiological, Physicochemical and Chemical Changes.”
We appreciate your recognition of the value of our confirmatory study and its potential benefit to the industry, particularly with respect to fermented and bioprotected beef products. Your acknowledgment of the research design and methodology's appropriateness is also greatly appreciated.
Regarding the comments on the quality of the English language, we have taken your suggestions seriously and have already sent the manuscript for proofreading. We believe this will address the minor language issues you identified.
Thank you again for your constructive feedback and for considering our work for publication.
Best regards,
Mahide Muge Yilmaz Topcam
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript “Sucuk, Turkish Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Effect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on the Microbiological, Physicochemical and Chemical Changes” is an interesting study. The article highlights the significant role of bioprotective starter cultures in improving the microbiological safety, physicochemical properties, chemical stability, and sensory attributes of Turkish-style fermented sausage sucuk. However it needs consistent revisions to have a scientifically relevant structure.
Line 12 - Please correct methods > method
Line 119 – please correct is > are
Line 120 – please define the GRAS abbreviation at first use (Generally regarded as safe)
The introduction section should be shortened considerably
At the aim of the study please indicate if these aspects have been studied previously
Line 212 – please define the abbreviation CFU, the same at line 225 for TBARS
Lines 266-269 – has nothing to do with statistical analysis, and please define the statistical test applied.
Figure 2 – please make all the y axes at the same maximum value. Also, correct the microorganism's name to italics, also increase the quality of the figure
Please correct the whole manuscript for P<0.05 to p < 0.05
Line 354 – Please correct L. sakei to italics
Figure 2 please correct the x-axis to 12 (at days)
Lines 368-370 – this section should be moved to the discussion section
While the study provides valuable insights into the benefits of using bioprotective starter cultures in sucuk production, acknowledging the limitations (i.e. sample size, duration, etc.) can help in interpreting the results accurately and identifying areas for further research and improvement.
Please revise the whole manuscript and revise if all the references are necessary, because in this form it has a review structure, especially if you look at the introduction and discussions section. In addition, only 10% of the references are from the last 5 years, and approx. 20% from the last 20 years.
I would suggest highlighting the practical implications of the study's findings for the food industry, particularly in terms of enhancing product safety and quality through the use of bioprotective starter cultures. Additionally, emphasizing the need for further research on the long-term effects and commercial viability of implementing these cultures on an industrial scale would be beneficial for advancing the field of fermented meat product production.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThe manuscript should be revised by a native English speaker for better scientific soundness.
Author Response
Comment 1; The manuscript “Sucuk, Turkish Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Effect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on the Microbiological, Physicochemical and Chemical Changes” is an interesting study. The article highlights the significant role of bioprotective starter cultures in improving the microbiological safety, physicochemical properties, chemical stability, and sensory attributes of Turkish-style fermented sausage sucuk. However it needs consistent revisions to have a scientifically relevant structure.
Response 1; The authors are grateful for the valuable input of the reviewer. All the requested changes are highlighted in the text.
Comment 2; Line 12 - Please correct methods > method
Response 2; Thank you for your comment, it is corrected in the text
Comment 3; Line 119 – please correct is > are
Response 3; Sorry for the oversight, it is corrected in the text.
Comment 4; Line 120 – please define the GRAS abbreviation at first use (Generally regarded as safe)
Response 4; This is included in revised text.
Comment 5; The introduction section should be shortened considerably
Response 5; Thank you for your comment. The introduction section is shortened to 2 pages in the revised manuscript.
Comment 6; At the aim of the study please indicate if these aspects have been studied previously
Response 6; Thank you for your input. In the revised aim of the study, similar studies are mentioned and the impact of this study to the literature is highlighted.
Comment 7; Line 212 – please define the abbreviation CFU, the same as line 225 for TBARS DONE
Response 7; Sorry for the oversight, all the abbreviations in the study are defined in the revised text.
Comment 8; Lines 266-269 – has nothing to do with statistical analysis, and please define the statistical test applied. DONE
Response 8; Thank you for your valuable comment. The statistical analyses was explained in detail and included to 2.6 Statistical Analysis section.
Comment 9; Figure 2 – please make all the y axes at the same maximum value. Also, correct the microorganism's name to italics, also increase the quality of the figure
Response 9; Sorry for the oversight, the quality of all figures is increased and the y-axes of these graphics are set to the same scale to ease the comparison. The microorganism names are also corrected.
Comment 10; Please correct the whole manuscript for P<0.05 to p < 0.05 DONE
Response 10; Thank you for your comment, it is all corrected in the revised manuscript.
Comment 11; Line 354 – Please correct L. sakei to italics DONE
Response 11; As previously mentioned all the microorganism names are corrected.
Comment 12; Figure 2 please correct the x-axis to 12 (at days)
Response 12; This is corrected in the revised version.
Comment 13; Lines 368-370 – this section should be moved to the discussion section
Response 13; Thank you for your comment, as suggested this section moved to the discussion.
Comment 14; While the study provides valuable insights into the benefits of using bioprotective starter cultures in sucuk production, acknowledging the limitations (i.e. sample size, duration, etc.) can help in interpreting the results accurately and identifying areas for further research and improvement.
Response 14; Thank you for your comment, in the conclusion section the limitations of this study including duration are mentioned and the lack of a longer duration is included in the text.
Comment 15; Please revise the whole manuscript and revise if all the references are necessary, because in this form it has a review structure, especially if you look at the introduction and discussions section. In addition, only 10% of the references are from the last 5 years, and approx. 20% from the last 20 years.
Response 15; The references are revised and more current studies are also included in the text.
Comment 16; I would suggest highlighting the practical implications of the study's findings for the food industry, particularly in terms of enhancing product safety and quality through the use of bioprotective starter cultures. Additionally, emphasizing the need for further research on the long-term effects and commercial viability of implementing these cultures on an industrial scale would be beneficial for advancing the field of fermented meat product production.
Response 16; Thank you for your valuable comment. The practical implications and the limitations of the study are included and highlighted in the conclusion part.
Comment 17; Comments on the Quality of English Language
Response 17; The manuscript should be revised by a native English speaker for better scientific soundness.
Kind regards
Mahide Muge Yilmaz Topcam
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript has been considerably improved, however, the references are still too old. Also, the x-axis titles should be corrected to Time (Days).
Comments on the Quality of English Language
The quality of English is quite good.
Author Response
Comments 1: The manuscript has been considerably improved, however, the references are still too old. Also, the x-axis titles should be corrected to Time (Days).
Response 1:
Dear reviewer,
Thank you for your valuable feedback. We have updated the x-axis titles to "Time (Days)" as suggested. Regarding the references, we understand the importance of including up-to-date sources. However, as "sucuk" is a traditional food with limited contemporary research, the available literature tends to be older. We have made every effort to incorporate the most recent studies where possible, but some sections still rely on foundational work due to the scarcity of new publications on this specific topic.
We appreciate your understanding and hope that the revised references meet the necessary standards.
Kind regards,
Mahide Muge Yilmaz Topcam
