The effects of extended curing on the microbiological, physicochemical and sensorial characteristics of Cecina de León.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of curing times on the characteristics of 7-month dry-cured beef cecina stored for up to 12-months at 16°C and 65% relative humidity. Microbiological and physicochemical parameters, sensorial properties and consumer preferences were analysed at three different processing times (210, 270 and 360days). Curing time significantly affected (p<0.05) most of the parameters studied. Moisture and a(w) decreased (p<0.05) and NaCl content increased from day 210 to day 360, whereas microbial counts decreased (p<0.05) from day 210 to day 360. The continued increase of amino acid content and free fatty acid (p<0.05) until day 360 contributed to modifications in the characteristics of the final product. Thus, cecina with longer processing times had higher scores for colour, flavour and aftertaste. Consumer preferences indicated that the sensory quality of cecina improved from day 210 to day 270 of processing, after which no further changes were noted as curing was extended to 360days.