Enterococcus faecium SE920, Debaryomyces hansenii FHSCC 253H, Penicillium chrysogenum CECT 20922, producer of the antifungal protein PgAFP, and this protein itself have previously been proposed to control toxigenic molds in dry-cured meat products. However, their effects on the usual microbial population, and the sensory characteristics of these foods, have not yet been evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess the viability of the inoculation of these protective cultures, and their impact on the quality of dry-cured fermented sausages. These microorganisms were co-inoculated with a native desirable population (Penicillium nalgiovense, P. chrysogenum, D. hansenii, and Staphylococcus vitulinus) in a dry-cured fermented sausage (salchichón)-based medium in the presence and absence of PgAFP. Macroscopically, the biocontrol candidates did not produce relevant changes in the growth of the native population, enabling their coexistence. However, PgAFP causes the alteration of the hyphae structure in desirable molds. Thus, PgAFP was discarded for use on the surface of raw dry-cured fermented sausages (salchichón) in the pilot plant. The used biocontrol agents did not negatively affect the physico-chemical parameters of the dry-cured fermented sausages (salchichón) after ripening, which showed the typical volatile profile and odor. Thus, the application of E. faecium SE920, D. hansenii FHSCC 253H, and P. chrysogenum CECT 20922 as protective cultures against toxigenic molds during the ripening of dry-cured fermented sausages does not modify their typical sensorial quality.

Ripened foods of animal origin comprise meat products and dairy products, being transformed by the wild microbiota which populates the raw materials, generating highly appreciated products over the world. Together with this beneficial microbiota, both pathogenic and toxigenic microorganisms such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium botulinum, Escherichia coli, Candida spp., Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp., can contaminate these products and pose a risk for the consumers. Thus, effective strategies to hamper these hazards are required. Additionally, consumer demand for clean label products is increasing. Therefore, the manufacturing sector is seeking new efficient, natural, low-environmental impact and easy to apply strategies to counteract these microorganisms. This review gathers different approaches to maximize food safety and discusses the possibility of their being applied or the necessity of new evidence, mainly for validation in the manufacturing product and its sensory impact, before being implemented as preventative measures in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point programs.

The role of indigenous fungi in the appropriate development of sensory properties and the safety of dry-fermented sausages has been widely established. Nonetheless, their applications as probiotic agents have not been elucidated in such products yet, despite their promising functional features. Thus, it should be interesting to evaluate the probiotic potential of native Debaryomyces hansenii isolates from dry-fermented sausages and their application in the meat industry, because it is the most frequently isolated yeast species from these foodstuffs and its probiotic effects for animals as well as its possible probiotic activity for human beings have been demonstrated. Within the functional ability of foodborne yeasts, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antigenotoxic, and immunomodulatory properties have been reported. Similarly, the use of dry-fermented sausages as vehicles for probiotic moulds remains a challenge because the survival and development of moulds in the gastrointestinal tract are still unknown. Nevertheless, some moulds have been isolated from faeces possibly from their spores as a form of resistance. Additionally, their beneficial effects on animals and humans, such as the decrease in lipid content and the anti-inflammatory activity, have been reported, although they seem to be more related to their postbiotic capacity due to the generated bioactive compounds with profunctional attributes than to their role as probiotics. Therefore, further studies providing knowledge useful for generating dry-fermented sausages with improved functionality are fully necessary.