Charqui is a traditional fermented, salted and sun-dried meat
product largely consumed in Brazil. Its preservation is based on the
application of the hurdle technology, where salt, dehydration and fermentation are hurdles sequentially applied to prevent the growth of
undesired microorganisms. The manufacture of charqui is an artisanal
process. Large meat pieces are injected with a marinating solution,
salted with coarse salt, piled up for juices draining, and then dried
on racks exposed to the sun. The piles are inverted every 24 h, and
the whole process takes several days. The Aw of the final product is
around 0.7–0.8. During piling, a fermentation step, carried out by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) naturally present in the raw meat, is responsible for the unique flavor characteristics of charqui (Youssef, Garcia,
Yamashita, & Shimokomaki, 2007)