Abstract
Cathepsin B activity was measured during processing in hams originating from the main Italian prosciutto PDOs: Parma, San Daniele and Toscano. Sixty-five heavy pig thighs, from sixty-five Italian large white x Italian Landrace pigs bred and slaughtered in the same conditions were considered. Five thighs represented the post-mortem control time. The other 60 were distributed one plant per PDO, following a balanced plan. The thighs were sampled at the biceps femoris in groups of four per plant in the following ripening phases: salting, resting, drying, greasing, end of curing. The activity of the Cathepsin B (U/g protein) was determined by means of fluorescence measurements. The Cathepsin B ripening trend of the various PDOs was significantly different, particularly during the initial and mid-curing stage. This activity correlates with the proteolysis index through a PDO dependent pattern, indicating that different processing conditions can influence the quality of prosciutto, since they determine its biochemical development.
Highlights
Almost 80% of pigs born and raised in Italy are destined for the market of traditionalItalian dry-cured ham (‘Prosciutto’), the production of which is largely controlled by a protected designation of origin (PDO) to achieve products with reproducible, high-quality sensory characteristics
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the production process on cathepsin B activity in industrial conditions, measuring its variation in different processing phases in hams from Parma and two other important Italian PDOs, San Daniele and Toscano, obtained from coetaneous and homogeneous pigs bred together
The thighs processed in accordance with the three different PDO techniques were derived from heavy pigs belonging to the same genetic type, bred and slaughtered in the same conditions, and which were homogeneous in their carcass and meat quality [21,22,23]
Summary
Italian dry-cured ham (‘Prosciutto’), the production of which is largely controlled by a protected designation of origin (PDO) to achieve products with reproducible, high-quality sensory characteristics. The most important PDOs for Italian dry-cured ham are: PDO. Prosciutto di Parma (PA), PDO Prosciutto di San Daniele (SD), PDO Prosciutto Toscano (TO), which processed 7.8, 2.5 and 0.30 million conforming thighs, respectively, in 2020 [1]. The processing conditions of the three PDO hams differ. Upon receipt of the thighs, TO is cut in a “V”. Shape by removing a greater part of the skin than the other two PDO types, exposing a larger portion of the semimembranosus muscle; this increases the penetration of salt into the ham. The addition of salt to the fresh thigh
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