Characterization of <i>Leuconostoc carnosum</i> and <i>Latilactobacillus sakei</i> during Cooked Pork Ham Processing
Azra Mustedanagic,
Anna Schrattenecker,
Monika Dzieciol,
Alexander Tichy,
Sarah Thalguter,
Martin Wagner,
Beatrix Stessl
Affiliations
Azra Mustedanagic
FFoQSI GmbH—Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation, 3430 Tulln, Austria
Anna Schrattenecker
Unit of Food Microbiology, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Monika Dzieciol
Unit of Food Microbiology, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Alexander Tichy
Platform for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Sarah Thalguter
FFoQSI GmbH—Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation, 3430 Tulln, Austria
Martin Wagner
FFoQSI GmbH—Austrian Competence Centre for Feed and Food Quality, Safety and Innovation, 3430 Tulln, Austria
Beatrix Stessl
Unit of Food Microbiology, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, Institute of Food Safety, Food Technology and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
Cooked ham is a popular, ready-to-eat product made of pork meat that is susceptible to microbial growth throughout its shelf life. In this study, we aimed to monitor the microbial growth and composition of nine vacuum-packed cooked ham lots using plate counting until the microbial limit of 7.4 log10 AMC/LAB CFU/g was exceeded. Eight out of nine lots exceeded the microbial limit after 20 days of storage. Lactic acid bacteria strains, particularly Leuconostoc carnosum and Latilactobacillus sakei, prevailed in vacuum-packed cooked ham. Leuconostoc carnosum 2 (Leuc 2) and Latilactobacillus sakei 4 (Sakei 4) were isolated from raw meat and the post-cooking area of the food processing facility. Carbohydrate utilization patterns of Leuc. carnosum PFGE types isolated from raw meat and the food processing environment differed from those isolated from cooked ham. These findings demonstrate how raw meat and its processing environment impact the quality and shelf life of cooked ham.
