Use of two autochthonous bacteriocinogenic strains as starter cultures in the production of salchichónes, a type of Spanish fermented sausages

In this work, two autochthonous LAB strains (<i>Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum</i> BPF2 and <i>Pediococcus acidilactici</i> ST6), isolated from spontaneously fermented sausages produced in Spain, were tested to produce Spanish fermented sausages (<i>salchichón</i>) in pilot plants, due to their promising technological and anti-listerial activity. These products were compared with a sample obtained with a commercial starter (RAP) and a spontaneously fermented control sample. Physico-chemical parameters, microbial counts, metagenomic analysis, biogenic amines content and organoleptic profile of the obtained samples were studied to assess the performances of the native starters. In fact, traditional and artisanal products obtained through spontaneous fermentations can represent an important biodiversity reservoir of strains to be exploited as new potential starter cultures, to improve the safety, quality and local differentiation of traditional products. The data underlined that ST6 strain resulted in a final lower percentage if compared with the other LAB used as starter cultures. The use of starters reduced the BA concentration observed in the sausages obtained with spontaneous fermentation and the BPF2 and ST6 strains were able to decrease the level of products rancidity. Moreover, a challenge test against <i>L. monocytogenes</i> were performed. The data confirmed the effectiveness in the inhibition of <i>L. monocytogenes</i> by the two bacteriocinogenic strains tested, with respect to RAP and control samples, highlighting their ability to produce bacteriocins in real food systems. This work demonstrated the promising application in meat industry of these autochthonous strains as starter cultures to improve sensory differentiation and recognizability of typical fermented sausages.