Surface Mycoflora of Argentinean Dry Fermented Sausages and Toxigenicity of Penicillium Isolates

The objective of the present work was to evaluate the quality and safety of Argentinean fermented sausages, in relation with their surface mycoflora. Among the 47 mould strains isolated, 41 belonged to Penicillium, 2 to Aspergillus and 4 to Eurotium genera. The morphological properties related with technological criteria (such as white colour, velutinous micelium, capability to grow at low activity water and absence of pigments) of the Penicillium strains isolated were studied. Also, some Penicillium strains isolated in this work and known to be as potential starter culture for meat products were assessed toxicologically in a bioassay using brine shrimp. The result showed that only 8 out of 41 Penicillium strains would be desirable on the casing. Therefore, neither handmade salami nor commercially analysed ones would comply with the requirements of quality and safety.