Microbial ecology of fermented meat for the isolation of targeted strains as biopreservatives

The present work explores the biopreservation as a potential alternative approach in a view of nitrites elimination or reduction in fermented meats. In particular, on one hand, it focuses on finding performant lactic acid bacteria strains, for their antimicrobial and techno-functional traits. On the other hand, the present work describes to what extent is safe to reduce the nitrites in the fermented meat products, respect to the maximal amount of 150 mg/kg NaNO2. Therefore, the antimicrobial activity of selected strains was tested through challenge tests, in nitrite-free and nitrite-reduced fermented salami, against Clostridium spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. The outcomes from this study showed that the biopreservation is a promising approach for the pathogens outgrowth control in a nitrite-reduced fermented salami. In particular, one of the major outcomes is that the combination of 30mg/kg NaNO2 and bioprotective/starter cultures is a safe approach for Clostridium spp. outgrowth control in fermented meat.