P. Kotzekidou et Jg. Bloukas, EFFECT OF PROTECTIVE CULTURES AND PACKAGING FILM PERMEABILITY ON SHELF-LIFE OF SLICED VACUUM-PACKED COOKED HAM, Meat science, 42(3), 1996, pp. 333-345
Cooked ham produced with Lactobacillus alimentarius and Staphylococcus
xylosus as protective cultures, and control ham were sliced, vacuum-p
acked in pouches with oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of 360 and 77 cm
(3)/m(2)/24 hr/atm, and stored at 4 degrees C in the dark. The additio
n of protective cultures increased (p<0.05) lactic acid bacteria and m
icrococci and staphylococci counts in the meats. After cooking, the po
pulation of lactic acid bacteria was higher (p<0.05) in hams produced
with L. alimentarius than the other treatments. Protective cultures in
creased (p<0.05) the shelf-life of cooked ham. The higher the OTR, the
lower the shelf-life. Cooked ham with L. alimentarius was acceptable
up to 28 days compared to control ham with a shelf-life of 3 weeks. Mi
crococci and staphylococci were inhibited in hams with L. alimentarius
. Hams with S. xylosus had a better red colour than other treatments.
Cooked hams with protective cultures had lower total aerobic bacteria,
micrococci and staphylococci and Brochothrix thermosphacta counts tha
n control hams which had higher populations of lactic acid bacteria an
d lower pseudomonads.