Survival of Streptococcus suis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Trueperella pyogenes in dry-cured Iberian pork shoulders and loins

• S. suis, S. dysgalactiae and T. pyogenes are potential biological hazards of pork.
• Dry curing process eliminated these pathogens in inoculated Iberian pork products.
• Drying and ripening were the most important stages to get this result.

Dry-cured hams, shoulders and loins of Iberian pigs are highly appreciated in national and international markets. Salting, additive addition and dehydration are the main strategies to produce these ready-to-eat products. Although the dry curing process is known to reduce the load of well-known food borne pathogens, studies evaluating the viability of other microorganisms in contaminated pork have not been performed. In this work, the efficacy of the dry curing process to eliminate three swine pathogens associated with pork carcass condemnation, Streptococcus suis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Trueperella pyogenes, was evaluated. Results of this study highlight that the dry curing process is a suitable method to obtain safe ready-to-eat products free of these microorganisms. Although salting of dry-cured shoulders had a moderate bactericidal effect, results of this study suggest that drying and ripening were the most important stages to obtain dry-cured products free of these microorganisms.