Notice of Retraction Production of Cured Meat Pigment by Staphylococcus xylosus in a Model System

Meat color is largely dependent on the chemical state of myoglobin. During meat curing, nitrite is used widely to form the characteristic pink color of cured meat, nitrosylmyoglobin. However, the use of nitrite is limited due to its potential carcinogenicity. Metmyoglobin was extracted from donkey (Equus asinus) heart muscle by ammonium sulfate fractionation and purified by carboxymethyl (CM)-Sephadex Fast Flow ion exchange chromatography. The protein was then added to M17 broth to formulate a model system in which "meat reddening" is studied. Spectral analysis and colorimetric results showed that metmyoglobin was converted into nitrosylmyoglobin by Staphylococcus xylosus fermentation. The alternation of microbial fermentation to nitrite addition for colorizing cured meat products provides a potential solution in natural/organic food production.