Effect of high hydrostatic pressure processing and storage temperature on food safety, microbial counts, colour and oxidative changes of a traditional dry-cured sausage

Abstract

The effect of a high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing (600 MPa, 8 min, 16 °C) during 120 days of storage at 4 °C or 18 °C on the Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) cells inoculated in slices of Iberian dry-cured “chorizo” was evaluated. Mesophilic aerobic plate count (APC) and yeast and mold (YM) counts, instrumental colour and lipid and protein oxidation were also evaluated. HHP resulted in a reduction of 3.2 log10 CFU/g in L. monocytogenes counts (P < 0.001). Storage at 18 °C resulted in a remarkable decrease, compared with the 4 °C, in the L. monocytogenes counts during the storage. HHP produced a significant reduction in YM and APC counts immediately after treatment and at d 30 of storage. HHP did not affect instrumental color and lipid and protein oxidation in the first 60 days of storage but increased at 120 days. Storage at 18 °C resulted in decreases in CIE L∗ and a∗ (d120) values, and higher lipid (d30 and d60) and protein oxidation (d30-d120). The use of a treatment of 600 MPa, 8 min can be effective to control L. monocytogenes in case of post-process contamination in Iberian dry-cured “chorizo” without compromise traits related to consumer sensory perceptions.