Use of Food Cultures in Meat Products: Traditional Use, Modern Applications and Legal Classification

Dr. Claudia Durmus, Chief Technology Officer, NovaTaste

Claudia Durmus holds a PhD in chemistry and is a state-certified food chemist. She is responsible for product development, product management and raw material management at NovaTaste Austria. The global company NovaTaste, with locations in Europe, Mexico, Canada and Thailand, offers its customers holistic solutions - with taste, function and optimal nutritional profiles. As a global leader in taste innovation, NovaTaste offers customised and sustainable solutions for food producers, butchers and foodservice players. It delivers reliable customised solutions in the form of all-in-one compounds or individual seasonings and functional components.

Why are food cultures used in food production?

People have been fermenting food for thousands of years to preserve it and to make it more flavourful. For example, microorganisms turn milk into yoghurt or cheese, white cabbage into sauerkraut, barley into beer or meat into salami. This process used to happen spontaneously and unknowingly. Even today, the positive effects of fermentation, which gives food a longer shelf life, aromatic flavour, appealing colour and pleasant texture, are still appreciated. However, today this process is controlled and takes place with selected microorganisms, the food cultures.

Nowadays, these cultures are used for more than just their original purpose: they are also used specifically to protect against spoilage organisms and pathogenic, i.e. disease-causing, microorganisms, thereby increasing food safety. As scientists and researchers are now able to control the fermentation process, they can reliably plan the colour and flavour development, control the conversion period, and maintain the product quality at the same high level in a standardised manner.

We at NovaTaste mainly use in our food cultures are lactobacilli and pediococci from the lactic acid bacteria family as well as staphylococci. They all form competing flora that displace other existing bacteria and thus make foods longer lasting and safer. In addition, there are other specific modes of action of microorganisms.

“The current discussion initiated by the netherlands to differentiate between “ingredients” and “additives” for cultures depending on the application area is not helpful, as the same culture would have to be declared differently depending on the application”

We mainly use lactic acid bacteria to acidify and increase product safety. On the one hand, some of these bacteria produce substances that inhibit undesirable bacteria, and on the other hand, they produce lactic acid, which lowers the pH value and thus generally extend the shelf life. These strains also promote texture formation. In addition to that, Staphylococci have a positive effect on taste and odour, as they break down proteins and fats. They also reduce nitrate to nitrite and thus ensure an appealing colour.

We also offer so-called surface cultures. These are noble mould cultures of the Pencillium genus, which are applied to the surface of the salami. The result is a pure white mould that is visually appealing and develops a typical Mediterranean taste.

What is the legal classification of the use of food cultures in Europe?

Food cultures are substances that are intended to be ingested by humans in a processed, partially processed or unprocessed state. They are also used as a characteristic ingredient in food. In terms of food law, the use of cultures therefore clearly falls under the definition of food and not under the definition of food additives, as Regulation (EC) No. 1333/2008 defines "‘food additive’ shall mean any substance not normally consumed as a food in itself and not normally used as a characteristic ingredient of food, whether or not it has nutritive value [...]". However, food cultures are "ingredients" that must be indicated as "food cultures" in the list of ingredients in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1169/2011.

The current discussion initiated by the Netherlands to differentiate between "ingredients" and "additives" for cultures depending on the area of application is not helpful as one and the same culture would have to be declared differently depending on the application. However, the use of a culture is usually aimed at extending shelf life and thus implies a technological purpose, which results in an additive declaration. But it is precisely this effect that is always associated with the use of a food culture and is therefore not productive.

From the point of view of consumer and environmental protection, an increased use of cultures with a protective function is absolutely welcome as the use of preservatives could be reduced and the shelf life naturally extended, which in turn would reduce food waste.

However, consumer acceptance would fall if an E-number declaration were introduced, as the trend is towards clean labels and the avoidance of E-numbers; such unnecessary food law hurdles would, therefore, miss the goal.