Fermented Meat, Poultry, and Fish Products

Abstract

Understanding the technological, microbiological, and biochemical processes that occur during meat, poultry, and fish fermentation is essential for ensuring safe, palatable products. Dry and semidry sausages represent the largest category of fermented meat products, with many present-day processing practices having their origin in the Mediterranean region. This chapter talks about factors affecting color, texture, flavor, and appearance of fermented meats. Incorporation of sodium chloride, sodium or potassium nitrite and/or nitrate, glucose, and homofermentative lactic acid starter cultures in sausage formulas dramatically alters the ecology of the culture environment and chemical characteristics of finished products. The chapter also talks about chemical characteristics of fermented dry and semidry sausage products including cervelat, capicola and salami. Fish fermentation involves minimal bacterial conversion of carbohydrates to lactic acid but entails extensive tissue degradation by proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes derived from viscera and muscle tissues. Sauces have a predominantly salty taste and are derived from decanting or pressing fermented fish or shrimp after a 9-month to 1-year fermentation. The use of starter cultures in fermented meat products is a relatively recent practice compared with their use in fermented dairy foods and alcoholic beverages. More recent trends have been focused on starter cultures not only as fermentation tools but also for functional food purposes, to capitalize on their flavor-enhancing, bioprotective, and health-beneficial properties. The advantage of microbial activity is the reduction of nitrates, thus removing excess nitrate/ nitrite from the meat.