Effect of fresh pork meat conditioning on quality characteristics of salami
•The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of pork meat conditioning under different relative humidity (RH) values on salami quality characteristics. During a 6 days conditioning period at 0 °C under two levels of RH (95% vs. 80%), meat pH and weight loss were measured. Salami characteristics (moisture, weight loss, texture, appear- ance properties) were evaluated during 20 days of ripening. Results showed that conditioning at 80% RH yielded a significantly drier meat, being the weight loss rate 1.6 times higher than at 95% RH. The lower water content of meat allowed a shorter salami ripening phase, guaranteeing an appropriate weight loss and the development of the desired texture, while maintaining good appearance properties. The acceleration of this production phase represents a clear economic advantage for producers and consumers, leading to higher profit margins and lower retail prices. The possibility of using FT-NIR spectroscopy as a valid tool for the rapid evaluation of salami ripening was also demonstrated.
•The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of different rela- tive humidity values during pork meat conditioning on the quality characteristics of salami. In particular, two levels of relative humidity (95% vs. 80%) were adopted during a 6 days conditioning period at 0 °C.