Metabolomic Approaches in Fermented Meat Products: Focus on Lactic Acid Bacteria and Starter Cultures

Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and other starter cultures play key roles in fermented meat products by influencing fermentation, safety, sensory properties, and metabolite formation. Metabolomic approaches based mainly on mass spectrometry, including GC-MS, LC-MS, and CE-MS, as well as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), provide useful tools for characterizing volatile and non-volatile metabolites, monitoring quality, and identifying candidate biomarkers. This narrative review summarizes recent studies from the past seven years on metabolomic approaches applied to fermented meat products, with emphasis on LAB, starter cultures, and metabolites related to quality, safety, and fermentation. Overall, metabolomics can support the holistic characterization of fermented meat products and improve understanding of microbial activity during fermentation and ripening.