Evaluation of microbial dynamics during the ripening of a traditional Taiwanese naturally fermented ham

Isolation and identification of the autochthonous starter from a naturally fermented meat allows control of the fermentation process and promises microbiological safety for this specialty. Thus the purpose of this study was to identify the lactic acid bacteria and coagulase-negative cocci present in a traditional Taiwanese naturally fermented ham (TNFH) and to study the microbial dynamics at different ripening stages; the approach was a combination of conventional microbiological cultivation, polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and DNA sequencing. In total, twelve different strains of lactic acid bacteria and three Staphylococcus strains were identified in the TNFH samples, whereas only 5 dominant strains were observed in the TNFH samples when the DGGE as a culture-independent method was applied. The bacterial ecology on the surface of the samples was mainly characterized by the stable presence of Lactobacillus sakei and Staphylococcus saprophyticus; nonetheless Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Carnobacterium divergens were the most abundant bacteria found in the final product. These results are also agreed with the findings of the culture-independent method. In addition, Microbacterium spp., Carnobacterium spp., Enterobacter spp., Brochothrix spp., Enterococcus spp., and Bacillus spp. were also present at the beginning of the ripening, but few bacteria were found at the center of the TNFH samples during the early ripening stages. However, after 30 days of ripening, the microbial ecology at the center of the TNFH samples paralleled that of the surface. Finally, as far as we have been able to determine, our report is the first to investigate the microbiological dynamics in fermented meat products using combination of cultivation, the Harrison disc method, DGGE and DNA sequencing as the culture-dependent method. Our report is also the first to show the presence of Staphylococcus arlettae in a fermented sausage and ham product.