Abstract
In the present study, two different diameter (small and large) Milano-type dry fermented sausages were industrially produced to evaluate the effect of two different LAB starter cultures (Lactobacillus sakei and Pediococcus pentosaceus) on biogenic amines (BAs) content, proteolysis, and lipolysis taking place during both fermentation and ripening. With regard to BAs, putrescine and tyramine were mostly found in fermented sausages having large diameter and those inoculated with P. pentosaceus/S. xylosus exhibited significantly higher accumulation of these compounds. Overall, the small size sausages showed a more pronounced proteolysis taking place during processing. In addition, aside from the distinctive electrophoretic bands detected with both starter cultures, a more pronounced proteolysis and a faster protein hydrolysis was observed in salami inoculated with P. pentosaceus/S. xylosus. As for lipolysis, a significantly higher amount of diacylglycerols was observed at the end of ripening in the sausages inoculated with L. sakei/S. xylosus, which concurrently exhibited an increased D32, D34, and D36 series. The results of the present study confirms profound differences in BAs concentration, proteolysis, and lipolysis. These findings are strictly dependent on the starter cultures, which demonstrates that the choice of an appropriate starter optimized for peculiar products and processes should be the key factor to improve safety and quality features of traditional fermented sausages.
Highlights
Fermented sausages are a heterogeneous group of products differentiated in relation to raw material, the mincing degree of meat batter, ingredients, size, type of casing, starters, and ripening conditions [1,2].After casing, several modifications occur during fermentation and ripening, which bring to the acquisition of the organoleptic and textural properties desired for each type of sausage.Nutrients 2018, 10, 1497; doi:10.3390/nu10101497 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrientsThese modifications are influenced by physico-chemical factors due to the action of salt on the formation of a gel structure and autoxidation reactions and biochemical activity due to the endogenous enzymes of the meat and microbial activities [3]
Meat proteins are the target of enzymes such as peptidases and proteases such as calpains and cathepsins, which catalyse the hydrolysis of the myofibrillar proteins first to polypeptides and, subsequently, to smaller peptides leading in the final step to the formation of free amino acids [7,8]
In the samples inoculated with L. sakei/S. xylosus, putrescine concentration was lower than 10 mg/kg even at the end of ripening while a significantly higher accumulation of this biogenic amines (BAs) was found in the sausages inoculated with
Summary
Fermented sausages are a heterogeneous group of products differentiated in relation to raw material (type of lean meat and fat), the mincing degree of meat batter, ingredients (salt concentration, nitrate/nitrite, spices and herbs, other additives), size (diameter and weight), type of casing, starters, and ripening conditions (temperature, relative humidity, use of moulds, and/or smoke) [1,2]. Several modifications occur during fermentation and ripening, which bring to the acquisition of the organoleptic and textural properties desired for each type of sausage These modifications are influenced by physico-chemical factors due to the action of salt on the formation of a gel structure and autoxidation reactions and biochemical activity due to the endogenous enzymes of the meat and microbial activities [3]. Several authors underlined a possible role of microbial lipases (and esterases) produced by molds and staphylococci [17] All these transformations contribute to the formation of the “typical” characteristics, which are associated to each sausage typology and concern physico-chemical, textural, and sensorial features as well as product safety [18].
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