TY - JOUR
T1 - Replacement of nitrates and nitrites in meat-derived foods through the utilization of coagulase-negative staphylococci: A review
AU - Premi, Lara
AU - Rocchetti, Gabriele
AU - Lucini, Luigi
AU - Morelli, Lorenzo
AU - Rebecchi, Annalisa
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Nitrates and nitrites, which are synthetic additives, are traditionally used as curing agents in meat-based products. These synthetic additives are employed in the preparation of fermented meat foods to improve quality characteristics and microbiological safety, develop distinct flavours and red-colour stability, and counteract lipid oxidation. Nitrites also display significant bacteriostatic and bactericidal action against spoilage microorganisms and foodborne pathogens (such as Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes). However, meat curing is currently under scrutiny because of its links to cardiovascular diseases and colorectal cancer. Based on the current literature, this review provides recent scientific evidence on the potential utilisation of coagulasenegative staphylococci (CNS) as nitrate and nitrite substitutes in meat-based foods. Indeed, CNS are reported to reproduce the characteristic red pigmentation and maintain the typical high-quality traits of cured-meats, thanks to their arginine degradation pathway, thus providing the nitrite-related desirable attributes in cured meat. The alternative strategy, still based on the NOS pathway, consisting of supplementing meat with arginine to release nitric oxide (NO) and obtain a meat characterised by the desired pinkish-red colour, is also reviewed. Exploiting NOS-positive CNS strains seems particularly challenging because of CNS technological adaptation and the oxygen dependency of the NOS reaction; however, this exploitation could represent a turning point in replacing nitrates and nitrites in meat foods.
AB - Nitrates and nitrites, which are synthetic additives, are traditionally used as curing agents in meat-based products. These synthetic additives are employed in the preparation of fermented meat foods to improve quality characteristics and microbiological safety, develop distinct flavours and red-colour stability, and counteract lipid oxidation. Nitrites also display significant bacteriostatic and bactericidal action against spoilage microorganisms and foodborne pathogens (such as Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes). However, meat curing is currently under scrutiny because of its links to cardiovascular diseases and colorectal cancer. Based on the current literature, this review provides recent scientific evidence on the potential utilisation of coagulasenegative staphylococci (CNS) as nitrate and nitrite substitutes in meat-based foods. Indeed, CNS are reported to reproduce the characteristic red pigmentation and maintain the typical high-quality traits of cured-meats, thanks to their arginine degradation pathway, thus providing the nitrite-related desirable attributes in cured meat. The alternative strategy, still based on the NOS pathway, consisting of supplementing meat with arginine to release nitric oxide (NO) and obtain a meat characterised by the desired pinkish-red colour, is also reviewed. Exploiting NOS-positive CNS strains seems particularly challenging because of CNS technological adaptation and the oxygen dependency of the NOS reaction; however, this exploitation could represent a turning point in replacing nitrates and nitrites in meat foods.
KW - Coagulase-negative staphylococci
KW - Cured meat products
KW - Synthetic additives
KW - Nitric oxide
KW - Nitric oxide synthase
KW - L-arginine
KW - Coagulase-negative staphylococci
KW - Cured meat products
KW - Synthetic additives
KW - Nitric oxide
KW - Nitric oxide synthase
KW - L-arginine
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/293298
U2 - 10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100731
DO - 10.1016/j.crfs.2024.100731
M3 - Article
SN - 2665-9271
VL - 8
SP - 100731-N/A
JO - Current Research in Food Science
JF - Current Research in Food Science
ER -