Feasibility of Coupling Dehydration‐Impregnation by Soaking Treatment of Meat with Fermentation by Lactobacillus sakei

Abstract

Traditional meat preservation processes often combine unit operations such as salting, smoking, fermentation, and drying. In tropical countries, high temperatures and high relative humidity, poor infrastructure, and improper slaughterhouse practices explain the need for more drastic processes (more salt, more water loss) for meat preservation. Dehydration-impregnation by soaking (DIS) could be used as a rapid pretreatment of meat, in order to counteract tropical conditions. This study validates a novel approach whereby DIS is coupled with lactic fermentation by surface inoculation with Lactobacillus sakei. With a final drying step this process could be used for the treatment of whole meat pieces.