Abstract
This study aimed to develop marinade formulas based on by-products from the dairy, berry, and fruit industries and apply them to lamb meat (LM) treatments to improve the safety and quality characteristics of the meat. To fulfil this aim, six marinade (M) formulations were created based on acid whey (AW) fermented with Lacticaseibacillus casei (Lc) and Liquorilactobacillus uvarum (Lu), either alone or combined with freeze-dried apple (AP) or blackcurrant (BC) pomace. The most appropriate fermentation times for the marinades were selected according to the lower pH values and higher viable LAB counts in the samples. Additionally, the antimicrobial activity of the selected marinades against pathogenic and opportunistic bacterial strains was tested. The characteristics of the LM were analysed after 24 and 48 h of treatment, including physicochemical, technological, and microbiological parameters, as well as overall acceptability. It was established that, after 48 h of fermentation, all of the tested marinades, except M-AW(Lu)BC, had lactic acid bacterial counts > 8.0 log(10) CFU·mL(-1) and pH values < 3.74. The broadest spectra of pathogen inhibition were observed in the M-AW(Lu)AP and M-AW(Lu)BC marinades. The latter formulations improved the water holding capacity (WHC) and overall acceptability of the LM, while, in the LM-AW(Lc)AP samples, histamine, cadaverine, putrescine, tryptamine, and phenylethylamine were not formed. Lastly, LM treatment with the M-AW(Lc)AP and M-AW(Lu)AP formulas for 48 h achieved the highest overall acceptability (9.04 and 9.43), tenderness (1.53 and 1.47 kg·cm(-2)) and WHC (2.95% and 3.5%) compared to the control samples.