Impact of salt reduction on biogenic amines, fatty acids, microbiota, texture and sensory profile in traditional blood dry-cured sausages

Meat industry needs to reduce salt in their products due to health issues. The present study evaluated the effect of salt reduction from 6% to 3% in two Portuguese traditional blood dry-cured sausages. Physicochemical and microbiological parameters, biogenic amines, fatty acids and texture profiles and sensory panel evaluations were considered. Differences due to salt reduction were perceptible in a faint decline of water activity, which slightly favoured microbial growth. Total biogenic amines content ranged from 88.86 to 796.68 mg kg 1 fresh matter, with higher amounts, particularly of cadaverine, histamine and tyramine, in low-salt products. Still, histamine and other vasoactive amines remained at low levels, thus not affecting consumers’ health. Regarding fatty acids, no significant differences were observed due to salt. However, texture profile analysis revealed lower resilience and cohesiveness in low-salt products, although no textural changes were observed by the sensory panel. Nevertheless, low-salt sausages were clearly preferred by panellists.

Testing the cleaning effectiveness of new ecological aqueousdispersions applied on old icons

Adherent deposits are very aggressive towards ancient heritage paintings since they affect the varnish and the painting’s layers, sometimes reaching the preparative layers. The biggest problem to the restorer is their removal without affecting the patina, the transparent varnish (well preserved) and fine colour glazes made during painting. Therefore, their removal requires preliminary cleaning tests that allow the optimization of the cleaning system composition that is going to be used. The study was focused on organic natural systems, as colourless supernatants, some of them used during ages, but insufficiently studied. The paper presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of cleaning varnished icons of the nineteenth century, with complex conservation cases using supernatants derived from aqueous dispersions extracted from vegetables and dry indigenous herbal infusions. Best results, after six consecutive cleaning steps, on tempera old icon was obtained for a mixture made of mature white onion juice + extract of Soapwort flowers + corn silk tea + acacia tea. As a best result after just one cleaning step was obtained for a quaternary mixture composed from mature white onion juice + mature carrot juice + corn silk tea + aqueous extract of Soapwort flowers.

Characterization and Technological Features of Autochthonous Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci as Potential Starters for Portuguese Dry Fermented Sausages

The manufacture of dry fermented sausages is an important part of the meat industry in Southern Europeancountries. These products are usually produced in small shops from a mixture of pork, fat, salt, and condiments andare stuffed into natural casings. Meat sausages are slowly cured through spontaneous fermentation by autochthonousmicrobiota present in the raw materials or introduced during manufacturing. The aim of this work was to evaluate thetechnological and safety features of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) isolated from Portuguese dry fermented meatsausages in order to select autochthonous starters. Isolates (n = 104) obtained from 2 small manufacturers were identifiedas Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus equorum, Staphylococcus saprophyticus,andStaphylococcus carnosus. Genomically diverseisolates (n = 82) were selected for further analysis to determine the ability to produce enzymes (for example, nitrate-reductases, proteases, lipases) and antibiotic susceptibility. Autochthonous CNS producing a wide range of enzymes andshowing low antibioresistance were selected as potential starters for future use in the production of dry fermented meatsausages.

Quality improvement of traditional dry fermented sausages based on innovative technological strategies

Dry fermented sausages are highly appreciated food specialties, mainly in Portugal and other southern European countries. Therefore, all research efforts aiming at improving the food quality and safety of traditional dry sausages are of interest, since they are likely to result in products with higher added value and quality standards most suited to the requirements and concerns of the modern consumers. Among those efforts, it may be highlighted the studies involving innovative processing parameters and technologies to overcome practical problems gathered in the meat industry, which are mostly associated with food quality and safety. Additionally, characterization of traditional dry sausages and rationalization of their processing are essential for further achievement of any official certification. Thus, this article attempts to point out some research lines of highest interest in meat science (and particularly to the broad variety of regional dry fermented sausages), towards to the valorisation of technological, nutritional and commercial features. In addition, it is here emphasized the importance for the continuous improvement of the quality and safety of meat products as a way to respond to the current concerns regarding its consumption and the general advices in reducing its daily intake.

EFFECT OF SALT REDUCTION ON THE SAFETY AND STABILITY OF TRADITIONAL BLOOD DRY-CURED SAUSAGES

Health issues such as cardiovascular disease are often due to dietary habits. Thus, meat industry needs to reduce salt in their products. However, production of low-salt content dry-cured not affected. The current study evaluated the effect of salt reduction from 6% to 3% in two Portuguese traditional blood dry-cured sausages. Physicochemical and microbiological parameters, biogenic amines content, fatty acids profile, texture profile analyses and sensory panel evaluations were considered. Differences due to salt reduction were noticeable in a faint increase in water activity, which slightly favoured microbial growth, with the highest yeasts numbers found in 6% salt sausages. Total biogenic amines content ranged from 224.72 to 1302.81 mg kg-1 dry matter, with higher amounts, particularly of cadaverine, histamine and tyramine, in low-salt products. Still, histamine significant differences were observed due to salt content. However, texture profile analysis revealed that low-salt products showed lower resilience and cohesiveness, even though no textural changes were observed by the panellists. Nevertheless, low-salt sausages were clearly preferred. Still, taking the safety of these traditional meat products into account, the results obtained for pH, aw and biogenic amines, have shown that a reduction in salt content should be accompanied by complementary safety measures, such as the use of starter cultures to minimise microbiological and chemical risks.