Characterization of Micrococcaceae isolated from salt used for Spanish dry-cured ham

The microbial flora of salt used in the production of Spanish dry-cured ham was studied. The results indicated that Micrococcaceae constituted the pre dominant flora. Identification of the 369 isolates belonging to the family Micrococcaceae revealed that 60% belonged to genus Staphylococcus, 25% to M icrococcus, 6% to Kocuria, 5.4% to Dermacoccus and 0.5% to Stomatococcus. T he species most often isolated was Staph. xylosus (28.9%), followed by M. l ylae (21.4%), Staph. equorum (18.55%) and D. nishinomiyaensis (5.4%). The r esults indicate that the salt during salting process of dry-cured hams offe rs an ecosystem suitable for the survival of the staphylococci and micrococ ci.