The inoculation of a high dose (5.95 × 107 CFU g–1) of S. carnosus and K. varians cultures only increased the Micrococcaceae mean counts by around 1 log CFU g–1 during the drying stage. Other studies reported similar differences in Micrococcaceae between those started by LAB + CNC cultures and a naturally fermented salami. Our results suggest that spontaneous microflora do not allow Micrococcaceae to reach a sufficiently high population to achieve an effective fermentation of the salami , while the Started salami would have a greater chance of being fermented by CNC, with probable benefits for its quality. In any case, Micrococcaceae growth corroborated that the development of CNC can be enhanced in this type of salami by using the proposed starter cultures.