Mycobiota and mycotoxins in Portuguese pork, goat and sheep dry-cured hams

Abstract

The objectives of the present work were to survey, for the first time, the contamination of Portuguese fresh and dry-cured meat products with ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1), and to determine the fungi potentially responsible for this contamination. A total of 128 samples including pork fresh legs, dry-cured legs and shoulders, as well as goat and sheep dry-cured legs were analysed. Mycological analysis of these samples yielded a total of 630 fungal isolates. Penicillium sp. was the dominant fungal genus in all products (66% of all isolates). Penicillium nordicum and Aspergillus westerdijkiae were only rarely isolated from pork ham samples. In fresh pork meat, 40% of the samples were contaminated with OTA at levels below 1 μg/kg. In pork dry-cured legs with 20 to 25 months of ripening, 43% of the samples showed detectable contamination, while 18% of the shoulder hams were contaminated. OTA was not detected in any of the goat and sheep samples. OTA contamination does not seem to be a risk in small-piece and short-ripe products like goat and sheep legs, but affects longer ripe products like pork legs and shoulders. Although aflatoxigenic fungi were identified, AFB 1 was not detected in any sample, and it should not be considered a risk in dry-cured hams.

Mycotoxins—Biomonitoring and Human Exposure

“…Aflatoxin M1 [30,43,45] Milk porridge Aflatoxin M1 [30] Cheese Aflatoxin M1 [46] Yoghurt Aflatoxin M1 [31] Fruit drink Patulin [30] Fruit foodstuffs Patulin [30] Pork meat Ochratoxin A [47] Pork hams Ochratoxin A [47] Table 1. Cont.…”

Sheep and Goat Meat Processed Products Quality: A Review

“…Some of the studies in some of these new processed products showed interesting results to improve the physicochemical quality. Some studies pointed out the importance of using meats from culled sheep and goats to obtain processed products, with added values to animals with very low commercial values and acceptability by consumers [9][10][11][12][13]. Goat "mantas" pH, a W , moisture, protein, fat and fatty acids, ashes, TBARS Added value to culled animals [68] Goat and sheep "mantas" pH, a W , water holding capacity, color, texture Species [69] Goat and sheep cured legs pH, ash, moisture, fat, protein, fatty acids, TBARS, NaCl, color, collagen, cholesterol Species, salting and ripening time [10] Goat frankfurters Moisture, protein, fat, texture Source of fat on texture acceptability [37] Mutton sausages Moisture, a W , pH, fat Different starter cultures on quality [39] Goat Mortadella Moisture, ashes, protein, fat, color, pH, a W Pork fat level [38] Sheep and goat Sucuk Moisture, fat, protein, ashes, color Effect of sheep and goat [30] Goat blood sausage Moisture, fat, protein, ashes, fatty acids, amino acids cholesterol Descriptive [70] "Buchada" goat pH, a W , moisture, protein, fat, cholesterol, amino acids Descriptive [71] Chevon salamis Moisture, protein, extract ether, ashes, Descriptive [72] Sheep pastrami Warner-Bratzler shear force Vacuuming pressuring on tenderizing [14] Sheep and goat sausages pH, a W , moisture, protein, fat and fatty acids, ashes, TBARS Different pork back fat levels added [9] Goat sausages Moisture, fat, protein, ashes, fatty acids, cholesterol Combinations with beef [42] Sheep sausages pH, color, texture, TBARS, free fatty acids, volatile compounds Oregano concentrations [73] Goat frankfurter pH, ash, moisture, protein, fat, color, texture, fatty acid profile Level goat meat [13] TBARS-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and a w -water activity.…”

“…Mycobiota and mycotoxins in Portuguese pork, goat and sheep dry-cured hams were studied [12]. The contamination of Portuguese-ripened meat products with ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was examined, and the contamination potential cause that fungi established.…”

“…The meat of sheep and goats coming out of these quality marks, as well as culled animals, are cured and processed, producing popular products such as the Spanish Cecina de castron [7] or the Italian violin di capra [8]. Recently, studies on the use of goat and sheep meats in the production of new processed products and methods [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] confirm the importance of research and innovation as key factors in advances in the production of sheep and goats, particularly in the control of food processes, physicochemical characterization, food safety and the sensorial properties of new products [18]. Thus, the purpose of this review is to summarize the most recent studies on the quality of sheep and goat processed meat products and to contribute to a better awareness and spreading the information about these products.…”

Ochratoxin A in Slaughtered Pigs and Pork Products

“…HPLC-FLD based on an immunoaffinity clean-up step, with a range of applicability of 0.4 to 12 µg/kg of OTA, was used for the quantification of OTA in kidney, liver, lung and pork-derived products [148]. The HPLC-FLD method has also been used for the determination of OTA in pig tissues [22,149] and in meat products [32,150].…”