Analysis of microbiota structure in cooked ham as influenced by chemical composition and processing treatments: Identification of spoilage bacteria and elucidation on contamination route.

Spoilage in cooked ham is one of the main challenges where microbial contamination can play a fundamental role. This study aimed to characterize pork-cooked ham's microbial community changes among different food production conditions (formulation and processing) using 16S rRNA sequencing and also to investigate the spoilage bacteria in order to elucidate their contamination route. Samples of three pork-cooked ham references with and without post-pasteurization treatment and in contact with the slicing-packaging conveyor belt and slicer and packager surfaces were performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In order to clarify the contamination route, surfaces were sampled by conventional microbiological methods. Results showed that Leuconostoc spp. was the principal genera in spoiled cooked ham and had no relation neither to formulation nor contact with the slicing-packaging conveyor belt. The contamination route found for Leuconostoc spp. was associated with the storage and packaging zone. In addition, the calculated shelf-life decreased to 57.5% independently of the environment interaction minimization when ham casing permeability was changed and linked to contamination of spoilage bacteria during the slicing and packaging process. This research illustrates how the combined approach provides complementary results to implement suggestions in the facility to reduce the cross-contamination with spoilage bacteria. It also generates tools to comprehend and propose transference models understanding the environmental and intrinsic factors related to microbial transfer rate.

Obtención de oleorresina de pimentón (Capsicum annuum L) / Extraction of oleoresin from sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L)

La oleorresina de pimentón (Capsicum annuum L.) contiene fundamentalmente carotenoides, capsaicinoides y algunas vitaminas. Tradicionalmente se usa en la industria alimentaria. Se obtiene mediante un proceso en las siguientes etapas: a) escaldado, b) troceado, c) secado, d) molienda, y e) extracción con solventes volátiles (hexano, acetona, acetato de etilo). Los pigmentos que se extraen se analizan mediante HPLC en fase reversa y se comparan con la oleorresina de paprika comercial importada por la empresa TECNAS©.El rendimiento que se obtiene en el laboratorio está entre 3 (por ciento) y 6 (por ciento). Los resultados muestran la importancia del escaldado y del secado: el escaldado permite alcanzar una humedad del 13,56 (por ciento) en 320 min (sin escaldar en el mismo tiempo se llega al 21,01 (por ciento) y el secado posibilita la extracción con solventes.