Coppola Francesca, Nazzaro Filomena, Fratianni Florinda, Lombardi Silvia Jane, Grazia Luigi, Coppola Raffaele, Tremonte Patrizio
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Piazza Carlo di Borbone 1, 80055 Portici, Italy.
Institute of Food Science, Italian National Research Council, Via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy.
Foods. 2025 Mar 20;14(6):1077. doi: 10.3390/foods14061077.
The use of buffalo meat in fermented sausage production represents a sustainable and innovative approach to enhancing the value of underutilized meat cuts. However, its high heme content and specific fatty acid composition makes the meat particularly sensitive to lactic fermentation with lipid oxidation phenomena and sensory character decay. Therefore, buffalo meat requires tailored fermentation strategies to ensure product stability. The aim of this study was to optimize fermentation strategies by exploring milder acidification processes and the fortification of buffalo meat with vegetable oils to reduce oxidation while maintaining microbiological quality. In particular, the effect of adding or omitting glucose and fortifying with pumpkin seed oil in Napoli-style buffalo salami was studied and the impact on the main quality parameters was evaluated. Pumpkin seed oil (0.5%) was selected for its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and evaluated for its interaction with starter cultures through Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) tests and predictive microbiology models. Based on the findings, its use was validated in Napoli-style salami, produced with and without glucose. Microbial dynamics, physicochemical changes over time, oxidation indices, and sensory attributes were assessed. Results indicated that the sugar-free formulations combined with pumpkin seed oil achieved optimal sensory and safety attributes. The addition of glucose facilitated rapid lactic acid bacterial growth (about 2.5 ∆ log CFU/g), enabling pH reduction to safe levels (<5.2) and the effective inhibition of and coliforms. However, acidification in the control batch, as demonstrated by multiple variable regression analyses, induced pre-oxidative conditions, increasing lipid oxidation markers (TBARSs > 0.7 mg MAD/Kg), which negatively impacted flavor and color stability. The use of pumpkin seed oil confirmed its antimicrobial and antioxidant potential, making it a promising fortifying ingredient for producing slow-fermented, mildly acidified (pH > 5.4) buffalo meat salami, offering a novel strategy for improving the nutritional, sensorial, and safety quality of dry fermented meat.
在发酵香肠生产中使用水牛肉是一种可持续且创新的方法，可提高未充分利用的肉块的价值。然而，其高血红素含量和特定的脂肪酸组成使这种肉对乳酸发酵特别敏感，容易出现脂质氧化现象和感官特性衰退。因此，水牛肉需要量身定制的发酵策略以确保产品稳定性。本研究的目的是通过探索更温和的酸化过程以及用水性油脂强化水牛肉来减少氧化，同时保持微生物质量，从而优化发酵策略。具体而言，研究了在那不勒斯式水牛肉萨拉米中添加或不添加葡萄糖以及用南瓜籽油强化的效果，并评估了其对主要质量参数的影响。选择南瓜籽油（0.5%）是因其具有抗菌和抗氧化特性，并通过最低抑菌浓度（MIC）测试和预测微生物模型评估其与发酵剂培养物的相互作用。基于这些发现，在有或没有葡萄糖的情况下生产的那不勒斯式萨拉米中验证了其使用。评估了微生物动态、随时间的理化变化、氧化指数和感官属性。结果表明，无糖配方与南瓜籽油相结合可实现最佳的感官和安全属性。添加葡萄糖促进了乳酸菌的快速生长（约2.5 ∆ log CFU/g），使pH值降至安全水平（<5.2），并有效抑制了 和大肠菌群。然而，通过多元变量回归分析表明，对照批次中的酸化诱导了预氧化条件，增加了脂质氧化标志物（硫代巴比妥酸反应物>0.7 mg MAD/Kg），这对风味和颜色稳定性产生了负面影响。南瓜籽油的使用证实了其抗菌和抗氧化潜力，使其成为生产慢发酵、微酸化（pH>5.4）水牛肉萨拉米的有前景的强化成分，为改善干发酵肉的营养、感官和安全质量提供了一种新策略。
