In recent years, consumer perception about the healthiness of meat products has changed. In this scenario, the meat industry and the scientific and technological areas have put their efforts into improving meat products and achieving healthier and functional formulations that meet the demands of today’s market and consumers. This article aims to review the current functional fermented meat products, especially on sausage development. Firstly, an emphasis is given to reducing and replacing traditional ingredients associated with increased risk to consumer’s health (sodium, fat, and nitrites), adding functional components (prebiotics, probiotics, symbiotics, and polyphenols), and inducing health benefits. Secondly, a look at future fermented sausages is provided by mentioning emerging strategies to produce innovative healthier and functional meat products. Additional recommendations were also included to assist researchers in further development of healthier and functional sausages.

The reformulation of meat products is a pending task for the scientific-technological sector. Fermented meat products can carry probiotics, and studying their effect during the product shelf life currently represents a large area of vacancy. The objective of this work was to study the viability of microencapsulated (E) and unencapsulated (P) Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BFL as well as their effects on the microbiological and physicochemical parameters of fermented sausages preserved at 20 °C and 5 °C during 60 days of storage. The inoculated sausages (P and E) had significantly reduced pH values and potential pathogenic microorganism counts. The viability of encapsulated L. plantarum BFL (E) did not decline during storage as it did in its unencapsulated state (P). In addition, L. plantarum BFL could present an antioxidant effect at 20 °C towards the end of storage. The probiotic L. plantarum BFL generally tolerated the meat matrix conditions; it could be used as a biocontroller since its high viability rates would allow it to be projected as an adjunct culture for the meat industry. However, spray-drying microencapsulation of the probiotic L. plantarum BFL is not recommended as a viability-enhancing strategy in the Salamines Criollos studied in this work.

Background: This study aimed to assess the presence of thermotolerant Campylobacter resistant to ciprofloxacin and erythromycin in poultry slaughterhouses and retail markets, as well as to characterize their multidrug resistance profiles, genetic determinants, and clonal relationships. Methods: Samples were collected at slaughterhouses from cecal content (n = 270), neck skin (n = 270), and wastewater (n = 9), and at retail markets from breast skin (n = 241). Isolates were obtained from mCCDA agar supplemented with ciprofloxacin (2 μg/mL) and identified as C. jejuni or C. coli by PCR. The agar microdilution test was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration for ciprofloxacin and erythromycin, and other critical antibiotics. Point mutations in gyrA (Thr86Ile) and 23S rRNA (A2075G), virulence genes (flaA, flhA, cadF, and cdt), and clonal relationships were assessed by PCR and PFGE. Results: At the slaughterhouses, thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. resistant to erythromycin and ciprofloxacin were detected in 48.55% (107/549) of the samples, whereas 4.56% (11/241) of retail samples were positive. The Thr86Ile substitution in gyrA and the A2075G mutation in the 23S rRNA gene were detected in 92.97% and 89.84% of the isolates, respectively. Most isolates (>80%) were multidrug resistant and harbored key virulence genes (flaA, flhA, and cadF). C. jejuni exhibited the highest prevalence of cdt genes (76.19%). There was substantial genotypic diversity among isolates, with broad distribution across the sampled matrices and sites. Conclusions: These findings highlight the circulation of multidrug-resistant and potentially virulent thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in the later stages of the poultry meat supply chain.