This study analyzed the dominant spoilage bacteria present in chicken feet with pickled peppers packed in inflated bags and analyzed their growth characteristics. Traditional isolation and culture methods were employed to screen the dominant spoilage bacteria; cell morphology was observed by microscopy after methylene blue staining, and the isolated strains were identified by phylogenetic analysis of the D1/D2 region of 26S rDNA sequences. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-random amplified polymorphic DNA (ERIC-RAPD) analysis was used to characterize the genetic variation of the isolated strains. The growth characteristics of the dominant strains were also studied. Forty strains of yeast, numbered PJ1-PJ40 were isolated from the chicken feet product, and microscopic images showed that all strains had the same morphological characteristics; all were oval in shape. Molecular identification showed that all strains belonged to two genotypes of Yarrowia lipolytica, indicating that Y. lipolytica was the dominant spoilage bacteria in this product, originating from several sources of contamination. The optimal pH and temperature for growth of Y. lipolytica were found to be 4.5 and 25 ℃, respectively; increasing the NaCl concentration had an inhibitory effect on the growth of these bacteria.
