There are many lists of foods that can and cannot be eaten when you are pregnant. You regularly come across salami on these lists. Salami is a type of sausage in which raw meat is processed. Raw meat immediately sets off alarm bells for most pregnant women. There is a warning about Toxoplasmosis when eating raw meat. A parasite causes toxoplasmosis, which can pose a threat to pregnant women. Yet salami turns out to be less threatening than we all think.
Salami
Salami is a spicy sausage that originally comes from Italy. Salami consists of a mixture of meat and herbs. The sausage is fermented and dried, so the shelf life is usually about thirty to forty days. As a result, making salami used to be a popular way to extend the shelf life of meat.
Variants
There are many variations of salami. Some examples are the Spanish chorizo or fuet, the French saucisson sec and the American pepperoni. The salami varieties are often tailored to the taste of the area in which the salami is made. There are salamis without pork, but also types of salami without garlic. The adapted types of salami are often less spicy in taste, less dry and cheaper than the original Italian types.
Preparation
Many types of salami are made from raw meat, which is preserved by drying the sausage. There are also varieties that are still cooked after drying, such as the salame cotto.
Grind
When preparing salami, the meat is ground and mixed with salt and spices. The meat is then mixed vigorously to get the right structure. The meat is then stuffed into an intestine. Nowadays, artificial casings are usually used for this purpose.
Fermentation
The salami is hung in a moist and warm environment to promote the fermentation process. After fermenting for three days, the sausages are hung in a cooler environment to dry. Because sugar has been added to the meat, bacteria can grow during fermentation. These cause the production of lactic acid, which lowers the pH and coagulates the proteins in the meat. This allows the meat to retain less water and results in a drier sausage. This process is of great importance for the taste and shelf life of the salami. The formation of lactic acid ensures that other bacteria can no longer grow. In addition, nitrite or nitrate is often added for shelf life.
Hygiene
During preparation it is important that the work is done hygienically and that only fresh meat is used. Molds grow on the outside of the salami during curing, which protect the salami from fat oxidation. This makes the salami less likely to go rancid.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasma is a parasite that can be dangerous for pregnant women. If you contract an infection during pregnancy and are not yet immune, there is a forty percent chance that the baby will also become infected. This can cause your baby to develop abnormalities in his nervous system or eyes. Infection can happen in different ways. Possibilities include drinking contaminated water, soil contaminated with cat feces, unwashed fruits or vegetables, and eating meat contaminated with parasite cysts. Pork, goat and sheep meat in particular have an increased risk of contamination, but contamination has also been observed in beef in the past. The tissue cysts in meat are inactivated by freezing for two days at -20°C, by heating above 70°C, by drying, by salt concentrations higher than 1.1% or by gamma radiation.
Contamination of salami
Salami is traditionally made from pork, but nowadays many types are made using a different type of meat. Contamination with Toxoplasma is possible, especially when using pig, goat, sheep, but also beef. Most types of salami are not heated, which means the meat can contain tissue cysts of toxoplasma. Because of this, it is often stated that you can become infected by eating salami.
Pregnant and salami
Salami is often not recommended for pregnant women because it is made from raw meat. However, this advice is not entirely correct. The tissue cysts are also inactivated by drying and by salt concentrations higher than 1.1%. Salami is a dried sausage and contains an average of about 3.5 grams of salt per hundred grams of salami. Theoretically, the tissue cysts in salami will be inactivated, meaning that eating salami cannot cause toxoplasmosis. This means that salami can be eaten during pregnancy.
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