The relationship between biogenic amines and the growth of spoilage related microorganisms in sliced cooked ham stored under different packaging

Spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms are the most important factors affecting food safety and quality, and food packaging is the most important technical link to inhibit spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms in food transportation. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of biogenic amines (tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, spermine) and spoilage-causing microorganisms in ham stored at 4 degrees C under different commodity packaging. The experimental packaging systems were Pack-1 (multilayer sheet + multilayer bag), Pack-2 (polycoupled sheet + metallized bag), and Pack-3 (polycoupled sheet + copper bag). The results showed that the Pack-2 has exceptionally high efficiency compared with the other two. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) applied to principal component 1 (PC1) was the most important variable in terms of differences among packing conditions, as it explained; 71.7%, 57.8%, and 83.5% of the total variability in Pack-1, Pack-2, and Pack-3, respectively. PC1 was positively associated with microbial analyses and protein content change (parts of biogenic amines content). PC1 differentiated the indicators from packaging conditions. PC1 was positively related to microbial analysis and protein change. Therefore, cadaverine, tryptamine and phenylethylamine could be used as the spoilage indicators of ham, of which the contents might reflect the spoilage degree.