Effect of Breed Purity and Rearing Systems on the Stability of Sliced Iberian Dry-Cured Ham Stored in Modified Atmosphere and Vacuum Packaging

Abstract

The long-term storage stability of three quality categories of sliced Iberian dry-cured ham defined by the Spanish Iberian Quality Standard (Black, purebred Iberian reared outdoors in Montanera system; Red, Iberian × Duroc crossed (50%) pigs reared outdoors in Montanera system;, and White, Iberian × Duroc crossed (50%) pigs commercially fed) and packaged under vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) was studied. Commercial category affected the shelf life, being Black and Red presented the highest lipid oxidation during storage, whereas the effect of packaging was not as clear as the effect of commercial category. MAP preserved more the colour and the antioxidants content than vacuum packaging, while this latter reduced lipid oxidation development and maintained better the brightness and flavour of slices than MAP.

Potencial Use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) to Categorise Chorizo Sausages from Iberian Pigs According to Several Quality Standards

“…More specifically, the main absorption dominated bands were observed around 1090 and 1270 nm, which would be associated with behavior to the C-H bonds, which is related to fatty acids and alpha and gamma tocopherols [22,23]. Therefore, the overlapping of spectra from Black and Red categories would support the similarity in the fatty acid profile (38.1 and 38.6 g per 100 g of fatty acid methyl esters (% FAMEs) of saturated fatty acids, 54.8 and 54.5% FAMEs of monounsaturated fatty acids and 7.2 and 6.8% FAMES of polyunsaturated fatty acids for Black and Red categories, respectively), and tocopherols content (14.4 and 13.9 µg/g of alpha tocopherol and 1.7 and 1.6 µg/g of gamma tocopherol for Black and Red categories, respectively) between Iberian chorizo manufactured from meat and fat belonging to these two categories, as has been previously reported [8] and as has been also demonstrated in other Iberian dry-cured products [24,25]. This could be mainly explained by the same feeding regime of animals reared under the requirements of both Black and Red categories.…”

Partial Characterization of the Impact of Saffron on the Sensory and Physicochemical Quality Traits of Dry-Cured Ham

“…However, color is affected by many factors such as spices added, packaging or processing [ 48 ]. Changes in color parameters have been studied in dry ham [ 40 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ].…”

“…It is evident that the panelists preferred the group with the lowest concentration of saffron ( Figure 2 ). Other studies [ 52 , 76 ] that indicated the acceptability of dry-cured ham during storage obtained lower scores with storage time, owing to increasing rancid odor and flavor in vacuum-packed ham [ 50 , 51 , 77 ]. Despite the fact the shelf life assigned to Spanish dry-cured ham is approximately one year, this is significantly reduced when the dry-cured ham is sliced and vacuum-packaged [ 51 , 78 ].…”

“…Other studies [ 52 , 76 ] that indicated the acceptability of dry-cured ham during storage obtained lower scores with storage time, owing to increasing rancid odor and flavor in vacuum-packed ham [ 50 , 51 , 77 ]. Despite the fact the shelf life assigned to Spanish dry-cured ham is approximately one year, this is significantly reduced when the dry-cured ham is sliced and vacuum-packaged [ 51 , 78 ]. The decrease of flavor, odor and even color is in accordance with the reduction of shelf life of ham, not due to microbiological problems, but because of the decrease of sensorial quality [ 51 ].…”

“…Despite the fact the shelf life assigned to Spanish dry-cured ham is approximately one year, this is significantly reduced when the dry-cured ham is sliced and vacuum-packaged [ 51 , 78 ]. The decrease of flavor, odor and even color is in accordance with the reduction of shelf life of ham, not due to microbiological problems, but because of the decrease of sensorial quality [ 51 ]. This rancidity is usually associated with a decrease in pH [ 79 ] and especially in products rich in unsaturated fatty acids [ 80 ] such as ham.…”