Non meat-based alheiras – a safer novel trend?

In response to nutritional and health concerns, the food industry has begun to offer a wider variety of products that reflect changing consumer preferences. In addition to traditional alheiras, made with pork and/or poultry meats, other varieties of alheiras (“innovative”) made from codfish, mushrooms, tofu, soy and vegetables were launched on the Portuguese market. The objective of this study was the characterisation of these products, giving particular attention to their microbiological and chemical safety. Therefore, fourteen different products were analyzed. Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and moulds, were the prevalent microbiota of “innovative” alheiras. Sulphite reducing Clostridium spores, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. or Staphylococcus aureus were not detected in any sample. No differences were observed between traditional and “innovative” alheiras concerning pH and water activity values while nitrites, nitrates and biogenic amines were found to be within accepted limits for these kinds of products. In terms of organic acids, lactic acid was found in all analyzed samples while malic and succinic acid seemed to be predominant only in “innovative” alheiras. In conclusion, unlike traditional alheiras which often contain pathogenic agents, no harmful organisms nor chemical hazards were found in these new products, even though produced by the same companies.