Culturas iniciadoras nativas: aspectos tecnológicos, de segurança e aplicação em embutidos fermentados de carne ovina

Abstract

Starter cultures are species of microorganisms that initiate the fermentative process in food and beverages to form many of the sensory characteristics of the end products such as texture, color, taste and aroma, as well as conserving the product. Artisanal products produced in a given region may have unique sensory properties, which are related to the participation of native microbiota. This fact can attribute high added value and market competitive advantage to the product. For this reason, much research has been carried out on isolation and characterization of native microorganisms. Generally, the raw material used in the production of meat sausages refers to pork and beef, but meat from other animals can also be used. Meat from young sheep is much appreciated by consumers; however, meat from adult animals does not have the same acceptance because mutton has more intense texture, color and flavor. Therefore, the objective was to compile the main in vitro methods used to evaluate technological and safety characteristics of native isolates, as well as to evaluate the action of these isolates in the development of a fermented mutton sausage. Initially, searches were performed in the National Center for Biotechnology Information and Science Direct databases to obtain the bibliographic collection which was analyzed. Frequently employed and current methods were considered, and their limitations and potentialities were commented on. For the production of fermented sausages, three treatments were carried out with different concentrations of meat (T1 = 30%, T2 = 60% and T3 = 90%) from adult sheep (aged over four years). The viability of native starter cultures was monitored, and the physicochemical and sensory characterization of the formulations was performed. The results from the literature review show that the researcher can choose qualitative or quantitative tests and that this choice should consider the available analytical capacity, analysis time, assay sensitivity and costs involved. In addition, recent publications have been presented where different areas of the omics sciences have been applied to better explain the dynamics and functions of starter cultures in situ. Regarding the production of fermented meat sausages, it was found that starter cultures were able to remain viable during fermentation in all formulations. Faster acidification was observed in T2 in the first 24 hours of fermentation. Greater formation of desirable volatile compounds, such as esters, was also found in T2. Sensory analysis showed that T2 had the lowest rejection percentage and also the highest acceptance rate among treatments. It is concluded that the review of the main in vitro methods was able to offer an objective synthesis about research carried out within this scope. The results of the experimental research indicated a way of adding value to mutton from adult animals and to ratify the possibility of using native microorganisms in fermented foods.