The present invention refers to a method of producing raw sausages without bone and without rind with a short maturation (up to 16 months) which does not involve the use of nitrites, nitrates, other preservatives and antioxidants.

In particular, the invention refers to a method of producing raw cured meats without bone and without rind with a short maturation (for a period of less than or equal to 16 months), a bagged product made with this method and the related production plant.

The current production of raw cured meats of the Italian tradition without bone and without rind with a short maturation (up to 16 months) involves the use of two main preservatives, Nitrites (E249- E250) and Nitrates (E251-E252), often along with other preservatives and antioxidants. The use of the chemical additives mentioned above keeps the meat red color similar to that of fresh meat and controls, thanks to the bacteriostatic action of the additives, the bacterial load of the final product, as the meat is easily attacked by bacteria, particularly during the phase. of salting.

However, these additives (in particular Sodium Nitrite) present the problem of being considered by the medical world to be the basis of intestinal formation processes of nitrosamines which in turn can cause tumor formations (the first reason for colorectal tumors).

In recent years, the European law on the obligation to declare preservatives on the label has been circumvented by some producers using the vegetable variant of these preservatives (Nitrites and Nitrates obtained from vegetables such as spinach, with titration of the same defined in the laboratory), a misleading practice towards the consumer on whom the European Community has expressed itself negatively, so much so that soon the EU countries will have to oblige producers to indicate these preservatives on the label even if they are of vegetable origin.

Object of the present invention is providing a method of producing raw cured meats without bone and without rind with a short maturation (up to 16 months) which guarantees a truly natural final product, not requiring the use of preservatives and antioxidants, nor of chemical or vegetable origin, safe from a hygienic point of view, of high quality for aroma, taste and softness and with a natural ruby red color without stains or brownish coloring. The aforesaid and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will emerge from the following description, are achieved with a method of producing raw sausage without bone and without rind with short maturation (up to 16 months) without nitrites, nitrates, other preservatives and antioxidants. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variants of the present invention form the subject of the dependent claims.

It is understood that all attached claims form an integral part of the present description.

It will be immediately obvious that innumerable variations and modifications (for example relating to shape, dimensions, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) can be made to what is described without departing from the scope of the invention as appears from the attached claims.

The present invention will be better described by a preferred embodiment, given by way of non ^¬ limiting example. The method of producing raw, boneless and rindless cured meats with short maturation (up to 16 months) of the present invention includes the following steps:

- a phase of receipt on the production line of the raw material in the fresh state at a temperature at the core of the product between 0 °C and +8 °C that has not previously undergone a freezing process, delivered fresh, i.e. not frozen, hung or protected by vacuum packaging, in optimal conditions for the pH of the meat (between 5.2 and 5.9) and with a residual oxygen value in the vacuum bag of <= 0.5% and a bacterial load controlled with cfu/g limits according to the provisions of the law; in addition, the raw material received on the production line must have followed a correct maturation process, in a maturation cell at a temperature between 0 °C and +8 °C and a relative humidity between 65% and 90%, with a maximum core temperature of the product of +8 °C; - a dry salting phase, preferably manual, distributing the tanning (including for example rock salt or sea salt, mixed with aromatic plants, spices and natural or artificial flavors) uniformly and delicately on the external surface of the anatomical piece with the use of churns or with a manual massage of the single anatomical piece, with a tanning weight between 1.5% and 4.5% of the weight of the meat to be treated;

- a phase of vacuum packing the salted product, so that the tanning always remains in contact with the meat and volatile aromas are not lost, and so that the product is protected from any bacterial aggression;

- a resting phase of the product under vacuum in a salting cell where it remains for at least seven days at a temperature below +10 °C;

- a phase of filling the anatomical piece into natural or artificial casing, after removing the vacuum bag;

- a cold rest phase of the bagged and tied product in a rest cell where it remains for at least twenty days (at a temperature between 0 °C and +7 °C and a relative humidity between 65% and 90%;

- a drying phase, which must allow rapid dehydration of the product already in the first days, including a first drying sub-phase in which the product stays in a drying room from day 1 to day 3 at a temperature between + 15 °C and +25 °C and a relative humidity between 50% and 80% and a second drying sub-phase in which the product stays in a drying room from day 4 to day 7 at a temperature between + 14 °C and +17 °C and a relative humidity between 80% and 95%;

- a phase of seasoning of the product in the seasoning rooms, specially air-conditioned rooms where air exchange and temperature and humidity control are ensured, where it remains for a period of between 1 month for leaner meats up to 16 months for meats with more intense marbling, at a temperature between + 12 °C and + 18 °C and a relative humidity between 80% and 95% so that there is a slow and gradual reduction of humidity of the product that is brought at a value of free water (Aw) <0.940, which is optimal for stopping the growth of unwanted bacteria. This is the condition that allows you to have a food product that is safe from a hygienic point of view without the use of chemical preservatives (Nitrites and Nitrates) or plant products having the same function; a phase of washing the aging molds, peeling the casing of the product and packaging it in a vacuum bag;

- an optional refinement phase in which the product stays in cells for at least seven days, at a temperature between + 6 °C and + 18 °C to favor the development of enzymatic actions of Proteolysis and Lipolysis that give the product finished the aroma and softness typical of a product matured over time.

At the end of the refinement phase, the dark ruby red color detected by a tristimulus colorimeter that measures the amount of red on the surface of the product cut, is well fixed and homogeneous in the anatomical piece, thanks to the activity of zinc-porphyrin, a pigment that it is formed from the union between zinc and hemoglobin. The repetition of the measurement of the amount of red at a predetermined distance from the first reading gives an indication of the stability of the color. In general, high red values detected at the time of cutting are associated with good color stability, but in some cases the product has a strong color at the first reading and then decays immediately afterwards due to an incomplete index of formation of the final zinc-porphyrin. In a second embodiment of the method according to the present invention, in the dry salting step sodium nitrate is added to the tanning to give the final product a more intense red color, in the seasoning step the product remains in the seasoning rooms for a period of at least three weeks and the refinement phase is not present.

In a preferred embodiment, the dry salting, vacuum packing of the salted product, and stuffing of the anatomical piece into natural or artificial casing of the method of the present invention are carried out in a controlled atmosphere environment, in particular in a clean room, with minimum ISO 8 classification, as will be explained later in more detail.

Preferably, the method of the invention is used for the production of bresaola, a traditional Italian sausage or salami produced with only beef, lean and rich in iron. It is a cured meat produced from a single whole muscle, whose traditional maturing process classifies it as a short-aged (up to 16 months) boneless and rindless cured meat.

The bovine muscle masses, deprived of the bony and tendon parts, used for the production of bresaola are generally the following: rump, which corresponds to the posteromedial portion of the thigh musculature and includes the internal rectus muscle, the adductor muscle and the semimembranous muscle;

- tip of the hip, which corresponds to the part of the rump deprived of the adductor muscle;

- subofesa, which corresponds to the posterolateral portion of the thigh muscles and precisely the long vastus muscle;

- joist, which corresponds to the posterolateral portion of the thigh muscles and precisely the semitendinosus muscle;

- under the bone, which corresponds to the anterior fascia of the thigh and is composed of the anterior rectus muscle and the vastus internal and intermediate muscle.

The method of the invention was subjected to laboratory tests for all microbiological characteristics in order to ensure that the bagged product obtained with this method complied with the laws in force and that it had achieved all the objectives assumed in the design phase.

An initial check concerned the suitability for sale of the bagged product, that is, its compliance with the regulatory and legislative parameters and the organoleptic and qualitative objectives.

To do this, the following bacteriological analyzes were carried out:

- counts of colonies at 30 - counts of mesophilic lactic bacteria

- counts of Micrococci and Staphylococci

- counts of Enterobacteriaceae

- counts of Coagulase positive staphylococci

- counts of Brochotrix Thermosfacta - spore counts of sulphite-reducing Clostridia

- Listeria Monocytogenes research

- research Salmonella spp

- Escherichia Coli research.

Table 1 below lists the results of the microbiological characterization carried out on the bresaola at the end of maturation:

TABLE 1 Table 2 below shows the results of the analyzes carried out on bresaola of groups 2 and 5 (S + V) which, at the end of maturation, were 5 deprived of the casing and stored under vacuum at

15 °C for a month.

TABLE 2

10

The results obtained showed superficial CMA between 3.8X106 and 2.0X107 cfu/g, consisting of Staphylococci and Micrococci and, to a lesser 15 extent, of lactic bacteria. The CMA at the heart of the product was in the order of 103 cfu/g in three samples out of four analyzed, while in the W15C sample it was equal to 4.5X105 cfu/g. The subsequent characterization of the CMA made it possible to identify bacteria attributable to the genus Tetragenococcus, halophilic microorganisms typical of seasoned products. B. Thermosphact, Coagulase positive staphylococci, Enterobacteria and the spores of sulphite-reducing Clostridia were found to be below their respective analytical limits (100 and 10 cfu/g) in all samples analyzed. Regarding the pathogens searched (Listeria Monocytogenes, Salmonella spp and E. Coli 0157: H7) they were always absent in 25 g of sample.

From these results it is clear that all bacterial counts have values within the limits defined by current regulations and that pathogenic germs were always absent in 25 g of sample.

It should be noted that the microbiological checks were carried out both at the end of the maturing and refining phases.

In Table 3 below, the chemical parameters of bresaola with different processing are compared, and it is evident that a soft chewing product with high quality organoleptic characteristics is obtained, thanks to the maturation of the cured meat with the lipolysis process of the adipose cells and proteolysis, protein. The invention also concerns a plant for the production of raw cured meats without bone and without rind with a short maturation (up to 16 months), without nitrites, nitrates, other preservatives and antioxidants, in particular to produce a sausage product, more in particular bresaola.

TABLE 3

^* grams of nitrogen soluble in trichloroacetic acid a 5% in 100 g of total nitrogen

The production plant according to the invention is made in a controlled atmosphere environment, in particular in a clean room, in which the polluting microparticles that otherwise would remain suspended in the air are removed, avoiding that the devices and people who are inside the chamber can pollute the air. Clean room classification is based on the count of microparticles having a diameter greater than or equal to 0.5 μm in a defined volume of air (e.g. one cubic meter).

In the ISO standards the membership class is defined according to a scale from ISO-1 to ISO-9 where ISO-1 indicates the best situation and ISO-9 the worst.

In the European GMP standards, used in the pharmaceutical sector and considered among the most restrictive, the class to which clean rooms belong is assigned with the letters A, B, C and D, where A indicates the best situation and D the worst. For example, when a class A cleanroom is in use, the maximum number of particles having a diameter greater than or equal to 0.5 μm allowed in the cleanroom is 3520 and the maximum number of particles having a diameter greater than or equal to 5 μmallowed in the clean room is 20. The production plant according to the invention includes a plurality of stations made in a clean room, preferably:

- a station for receiving the raw material in the fresh state at a temperature between 0 °C and +8 °C in which the receiving step of the method according to the invention is carried out, said station comprising means for receiving and moving the material first receipt on the production line;

- a salting station in a clean room of minimum ISO 8 class, i.e. of ISO 8 class or better, in which the salting phase of the method according to the invention is performed, said station comprising means for dosing the amount of tanning;

- a vacuum station in a clean room of minimum class

ISO 8 in which the vacuum packing phase of the method according to the invention is performed, said station comprising means for vacuum packing the salted product;

- a rest station in which the rest phase of the method according to the invention is performed, said station comprising a salting cell configured to maintain a predetermined temperature, preferably lower than +10 °C;

- a bagging station in a clean room of minimum class ISO 8 in which the bagging phase of the method according to the invention is performed, said station comprising means for stuffing into natural or artificial casing and tying the anatomical piece deprived of the vacuum bag;

- a cold resting station in which the cold resting phase of the method according to the invention is performed, said station comprising a resting cell configured to maintain a predetermined temperature, preferably between 0 °C and +7 °C, and a predetermined relative humidity, preferably between

65% and 90%;

- a drying station in which the drying phase of the method according to the invention is carried out, said station comprising a drying room configured to maintain a temperature between + 15 °C and + 25 °C and a relative humidity between 50 % and 95%;

- a curing station in which the curing phase of the method according to the invention is carried out, said station comprising curing rooms configured to maintain a temperature between + 12 °C and + 18 °C and a relative humidity between 80 % and 95%;

- a mold washing and product peeling station in which the phase of washing the maturing molds, peeling the product casing and packaging it in a vacuum bag of the method according to the invention, said station comprising means for washing, peeling and vacuum pack the product;

- an optional refining station in which the refining phase of the method according to the invention is performed, said station comprising cells configured to maintain a temperature between + 6 °C and + 18 °C.

Advantageously, the method of producing raw cured meats without bone and without rind with a short maturation (up to 16 months) of the invention guarantees a natural final product, not requiring the use of preservatives and antioxidants, neither of chemical origin nor of origin, vegetable, safe from a hygienic point of view, of high quality for aroma, taste and softness and with a natural ruby red color, free from stains or brown colors.