A bacteriological study of ham souring

Chapter 8: DEFINITION OF SOURING.

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About This Book

The study investigates souring of hams cured by the wet method through bacteriological, chemical, and histological analyses. It classifies sour patterns, describes detection techniques, isolates and characterizes a specific bacillus responsible for acid and gas production, and reproduces souring by experimental inoculation. The report examines possible routes of contamination including pickling fluids, handling, thermometers, needles, and hooks, evaluates the organism’s growth requirements and resistance, and measures tissue changes and chemical alterations in affected meat. Practical recommendations for prevention, proper handling, disposal of spoiled hams, and curing practices are presented, followed by a concise summary of conclusions.

DEFINITION OF SOURING.

To the meat inspector, a sour ham is one which has a tainted or “off” odor, that is, any odor which deviates from the normal. The odor may be very slight, so slight that at times only the trained meat inspector can detect it. When slight, the odor is elusive and hard to define, but when pronounced it has a distinctly putrefactive quality. When not very pronounced, the odor possesses, as a rule, a slightly sour quality, chemically speaking, and at times this sour quality may be quite marked; hence the term “sour ham,” or “sour” has originated. In a badly soured ham—using the term “sour” in the packing-house sense to denote any ham that is tainted—the odor loses this sour quality and becomes distinctly putrefactive in nature.