STUDY OF THE MICROBIAL-FLORA IN DRY-CURED HAM .5. LIPOLYTIC-ACTIVITY

The lipolytic activity of Staphylococcus xylosus, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus curvatus and Cryptococcus albidus was studied, using a model substrate which contained subcutaneous fat from the ham supplied, together with yeast extract, peptone and mineral salts. Samples inoculated with St. xylosus showed a considerable increase in volatile acids to about 3.3 times more than in the reference controls, the increase in non-volatile acids being only about 11%. The lipolytic activity of P. pentosaceus raised the volatile and non-volatile acid content by 4 and 2 times respectively as compared with the control. Similar behaviour was observed with the lipolytic activity of L. curvatus where the volatile and non-volatile acid content increased to 2.5 and 1.8 respectively. C. albidus showed a lipolytic activity lower than the other micro-organisms studied, the increase in the volatile and non-volatile acids being 13.7% and 28.1% respectively in the inoculated samples.