Selection and Evaluation ofStaphylococcus xylosusas a Biocontrol Agent against Toxigenic Moulds in a Dry-Cured Ham Model System

Toxigenic moulds can develop on the surface of dry-cured meat products during ripening due to their ecological conditions, which constitutes a risk for consumers. A promising strategy to control this hazard is the use of antifungal microorganisms usually found in these foods. However, to date, the effectiveness of gram-positive catalase-positive cocci (GCC+) has not been explored. The aim of this work was to select GCC+ isolates with antifungal activity to study its effectiveness in a dry-cured ham model system at the environmental conditions reached during the ripening. Forty-five strains of GCC+ were evaluated and the isolateStaphylococcus xylosusSx8 was selected to assess its efficacy at two different concentrations (10(6)and 10(4)cfu/mL) againstPenicillium nordicum,Aspergillus flavus,Aspergillus parasiticus,andPenicillium griseofulvumat 15, 20, and 25 degrees C. The results showed that the inoculation of 10(6)cfu/mL ofS. xylosuscompletely inhibited the growth of most fungi. In addition, in the presence of this strain at 10(4)cfu/mL, a significant reduction in fungal growth and mycotoxins production was observed at the three temperatures studied. In conclusion,S. xylosusSx8 possesses great potential as a biological agent to control toxigenic moulds in dry-cured meat products.