Wanshu Pan

Debaryomyces hansenii has the potential to enhance the flavor profile of traditional fermented meat products. This study investigates the impact of the D. hansenii LY090 strain on the microbial community, lipidome, flavor profiles, and sensory properties of Sichuan bacon. Inoculation with LY090 significantly inhibited the relative abundance of other yeasts, except for Debaryomyces, and altered bacterial community composition. The presence of LY090 led to a notable reduction (p < 0.05) in the levels of ceramide and phosphatidylcholine, resulting in an excessive inhibition of lipid degradation. This further affected the development of flavor and color in Sichuan bacon. However, the concentrations of aldehydes (249.80 μg/kg), ethyl 3-methylbutyrate (81.01 μg/kg), and acetoin (223.91 μg/kg) were all found to be abundant, and the bacon achieved the highest overall acceptance scores when inoculated with both LY090 and commercial starter culture FAST301. Correlation analysis indicated that the differential metabolites exhibited a stronger association with the yeast community, which plays a vital role in the flavor development of Sichuan bacon. These detailed investigations provide meaningful implications for D. hansenii LY090 implementation strategies in the Sichuan bacon industry.

Sichuan bacon is one of the most popular types of Chinese bacon in the domestic market. High-throughput sequencing was used to characterize the bacterial diversity of 39 Sichuan bacon samples collected from 3 geographical regions. The results showed that the bacterial diversity of Sichuan bacon in different regions demonstrated certain specificity as well as similarity, and the shared OTUs were close to 81% of the total number in the basin group, mountain group, and plateau group. At the genus level, Staphylococcus is the most dominant genus among the three groups, covering 26.7%, 20.6%, and 22.7%, respectively. Beta diversity shows significant differences in bacterial compositions in different geographic regions, especially for Pseudomonas, Brochothrix, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Enterococcus. Meanwhile, some physicochemical characteristics were analyzed, and a significant difference (p < 0.05) among the three regions was shown in the Aw, pH, and nitrite content, which were significantly correlated with undesired bacteria. This study provides insights into the understanding of the role of bacterial communities in the microbial safety and quality improvement of Sichuan bacon.