Biogenic amines in dry fermented sausages: a review

Functional meat starter cultures for improved sausage fermentation.

http://ssu.ac.ir/cms/fileadmin/user_upload/Mtahghighat/tfood/ARTICLES/meat/Improving_functional_value_of_meat_products.pdf

Improving functional value of meat products.

Selection criteria for lactic acid bacteria to be used as functional starter cultures in dry sausage production: An update

In the past, the beneficial effects of fermented foods on health were unknown, and so people primarily used fermentation to preserve foods, enhance shelf life, and improve flavour Fermented foods became an important part of the diet in many cultures, and over time fermentation has been associated with many health benefits Because of this, the fermentation process and the resulting fermented products have recently attracted scientific interest In addition, microorganisms contributing to the fermentation process have recently been associated with many health benefits, and so these microorganisms have become another focus of attention Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been some of the most studied microorganisms During fermentation, these bacteria synthesize vitamins and minerals, produce biologically active peptides with enzymes such as proteinase and peptidase, and remove some non-nutrients Compounds known as biologically active peptides, which are produced by the bacteria responsible for fermentation, are also well known for their health benefits Among these peptides, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) have a blood pressure lowering effect, exopolysaccharides exhibit prebiotic properties, bacteriocins show anti-microbial effects, sphingolipids have anti-carcinogenic and anti-microbial properties, and bioactive peptides exhibit anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, opioid antagonist, anti-allergenic, and blood pressure lowering effects As a result, fermented foods provide many health benefits such as anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-atherosclerotic activity However, some studies have shown no relationship between fermented foods and health benefits Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the health effects of fermented foods

Health Benefits of Fermented Foods

Several chemical changes occur during the ripening of dry-fermented sausages that determine the flavor and odor of the end product The phenomena that take place during fermentation, that is, both acidification of the sugars by lactic acid bacteria and reduction of nitrates and nitrites to nitric oxide by micrococci have been known for several years However, the chemical changes involved in this process, and, particularly, the agents responsible have not yet been established, although they have been attributed to changes in the majority components (proteins and lipids) and to the ingredients added (spices and condiments) in the preparation of the original mixture The typical flavor and odor of dry-fermented sausages cannot be attributed to volatile substances alone, but to a large number of volatile and nonvolatile compounds present in the product in suitable proportions Microbial growth in the sausage together with activity of the meat endogenous enzymes are undoubtedly partially responsible for the development of a number of aromatic and sapid compounds However, lipid autooxidation reactions are also an important source of these substances, and it is not yet known which of these processes is more important in sausage ripening Much research has focused on the break up of triglycerides into free fatty acids, diglycerides, and monoglycerides during ripening and the progressive increase in the amounts of different carbonyl oxidation products Carbonyl compounds probably play a significant role in determining the flavor because, in general, these have very low perception thresholds, in the ppm and ppb range Similarly, the protein breakdown to yield peptides and amino acids has been studied extensively, the latter being substrates of several microbial and chemical reactions that generate many flavor compounds

Bruna Jm

Papers

Changes in the components of dry-fermented sausages during ripening.