The Impact of HPP-Assisted Biocontrol Approach on the Bacterial Communities’ Dynamics and Quality Parameters of a Fermented Meat Sausage Model

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The consumption and appreciation of traditional foods have grown worldwide in the last century, valuing their cultural heritage, natural-associated content, and manufacturing process. Nonetheless, the increase in foodborne outbreaks associated with the consumption of these types of foods has become a concern. High-pressure processing (HPP)-assisted biocontrol is a non-thermal, multi-hurdle technology based on a cocktail of environmentally friendly antimicrobials that can be applied in synergy with mild HPP at low temperatures (≤10 °C) to promote the inactivation of target pathogenic bacteria and provide a sustainable alternative to conventional thermal food decontamination. Beyond the preservation of the physicochemical and organoleptic properties of foods, HPP-assisted biocontrol scarcely influences the endogenous microbiota. ABSTRACT: Traditional foods are increasingly valued by consumers, whose attention and purchase willingness are highly influenced by other claims such as ‘natural’, ‘sustainable’, and ‘clean label’. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a novel non-thermal food processing method (i.e., HPP-assisted biocontrol combining mild high hydrostatic pressure, listeriophage Listex, and pediocin PA-1 producing Pediococcus acidilactici) on the succession of bacterial communities and quality of a fermented sausage model. A comparative analysis of instrumental color, texture, and lipid peroxidation revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in these quality parameters between non- and minimally processed fermented sausages throughout 60-day refrigerated storage (4 °C). The microbiota dynamics of biotreated and untreated fermented sausages were assessed by 16S rRNA next-generation sequencing, and the alpha and beta diversity analyses revealed no dissimilarity in the structure and composition of the bacterial communities over the analyzed period. The innovative multi-hurdle technology proposed herein holds valuable potential for the manufacture of traditional fermented sausages while preserving their unique intrinsic characteristics.