Incorporating fermented by-products of Lactobacillus diolivorans in food grade coatings designed for inhibition of Tyrophagus putrescentiae on dry-cured hams

Distillate solutions that were derived from concentrated ferment of Lactobacillus diolivorans were incorporated into either a carrageenan (CG) and propylene glycol alginate (PGA) gum blend or into a CG, PGA, and xanthan gum (XG) blend. Fermented distillate was produced in a model system to mimic fermentation in food grade coatings to produce 1, 3 propanediol, acetic acid, and lactic acid. Distillate treatments were compared against a 10% propylene glycol treatment, a gum only control, and negative control on 2.5 × 2.5 × 2.5 cm cubes (n = 50) that were dipped into solutions prior to conducting mite bioassays. Coated and control ham cubes were inoculated with 20 adult T. putrescentiae (Schrank), and incubated for 2 and 3 weeks. The distilled treatments with CG + PGA + XG had a 20 fold or greater reduction (P < 0.05) in mite populations than all other treatments with the exception of the 10% PG coated treatments. In addition, there were no differences between treatments with respect to sensory texture, flavor, and moistness. This indicates that fermentation within food grade coatings could be evaluated on the surface of dry-cured ham to determine if the success in a model system could be reproduced in practice.