title: Identification and control of moulds responsible for black spot spoilage in dry-cured ham.
abstract: The aims of this work were to identify moulds responsible for black spot spoilage in the drying and cellar stages of dry-cured ham processing and evaluate the effectiveness of preventive actions for controlling this alteration. Four mould strains isolated from spoiled hams were identified by morphological characteristics and the ITS and β-tubulin sequencing. Two of them were Cladosporium oxysporum, one was C. cladosporioides and the remaining one was C. herbarum. These spoiling strains reproduced the black spots on dry-cured ham-based media and ham slices. Additionally, the effect of water activity (aw) conditions reached throughout dry-cured ham ripening and the activity of the protective culture Penicillium chrysogenum CECT 20922 against the spoiling moulds were evaluated. In the dry-cured ham model system the growth of the Cladosporium strains was minimised when the aw approaches 0.84 or in P. chrysogenum CECT 20922 inoculated dry-cured ham slices. Therefore such combination could be used to avoid the black spot formation in dry-cured ham.
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Safety, Meat and Meat Products Research Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de las Ciencias, s/n., 10003-Cáceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alía
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Safety, Meat and Meat Products Research Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de las Ciencias, s/n., 10003-Cáceres, Spain.
authors.forename: María J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Safety, Meat and Meat Products Research Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de las Ciencias, s/n., 10003-Cáceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, València, Spain.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes-Prieto
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Safety, Meat and Meat Products Research Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de las Ciencias, s/n., 10003-Cáceres, Spain.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bernáldez
authors.affiliation: Food Hygiene and Safety, Meat and Meat Products Research Institute, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de las Ciencias, s/n., 10003-Cáceres, Spain. Electronic address: jcordoba@unex.es.
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Córdoba
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002963:Cladosporium / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003890:Desiccation / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D056265:Microbial Interactions; D010408:Penicillium chrysogenum / Q000502:physiology*; D034421:Sus scrofa
keywords: Black spot spoilage; Cladosporium; Dry-cured ham; Protective cultures