María Micaela Álvarez

BACKGROUND Traditional dry‐cured fermented sausages favour the growth of an autochthonous microbial population, which plays an important role in their sensory aspects. However, some moulds can produce mycotoxins such as ochratoxin A (OTA). The biocontrol agents (BCAs) Debaryomyces hansenii FHSCC 253H and Staphylococcus xylosus FHSCC Sx8 have been demonstrated to reduce OTA production in dry‐cured meat products, but their influence in the sensory characteristics of sausages has to be tested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these BCAs on the colour, texture and volatile profile of dry‐cured fermented sausages. RESULTS D. hansenii caused few differences in the tested parameters with respect to the control batch. S. xylosus modified the texture and colour, although the values found were within the range expected for dry‐cured fermented sausages ‘salchichón’. Additionally, the volatile profile revealed the potential antioxidant effect of both BCAs and their ability to produce compounds associated with the ripened aroma that could increase product acceptability. CONCLUSION The results indicate that there were no inconveniences in implementing both BCAs during the processing of dry‐cured fermented sausages ‘salchichón’. Moreover, D. hansenii FHSCC 253H could improve the volatile profile of this product. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.