Types of traditional greek foods and the

Food Control 29 (2013) 32e41 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont Review Types of traditional Greek foods and their safety Efstathios Z Panagou a, George-John E Nychas a, *, John N Sofos b a b Laboratory of Microbiology and Biotechnology of Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos str., Athens GR-11855, Greece Center for Meat Safety & Quality and Food Safety Cluster, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1171, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Received 27 February 2012 Received in revised form 13 May 2012 Accepted 22 May 2012 Greek traditional foods have been evolved over centuries in the country according to local culture and artisanal practices in small scale family-owned installations and constitute a major part of the so-called Mediterranean diet Consumer concern for food safety and high demand for traditional food products is becoming an important challenge for the food industry To this end, safety issues about the hygienic condition and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens for a diversity of popular traditional Greek foods including fermented meat products, cheese, table olives, and emulsion-type appetizers is being reported Until recently, the production of these food commodities presented heterogeneity from area to area and practice to practice resulting in a final product with diverse microbiological, physicochemical and sensory characteristics The condition has drastically changed over the last years where the production has shifted from artisanal practice to industrial level under strict processing and hygienic conditions Nowadays, it can be considered that Greek traditional foods have a good safety record Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved Keywords: Cheese Emulsion-type appetizers Fermented meats Food safety Food pathogens Table olives Traditional Greek foods Contents Introduction 32 Definition and basics of traditional Greek foods 33 Traditional Greek foods 33 3.1 Traditional fermented meats 33 3.2 Greek cheeses 34 3.3 Fermented fruits and vegetables 35 3.4 Emulsion-type Greek appetizers or salads 36 How safe are the Greek foods? 36 4.1 Fermented meats 36 4.2 Cheese products 37 4.3 Table olives 37 4.4 Emulsion-type appetizers or salads 38 Conclusions 39 References 40 Introduction There are many different cultures within Europe and each one has its own distinct dietary habits Traditional foods are those that have been consumed locally or regionally for an extensive period of time and could be considered as an expression of culture, history, * Corresponding author Tel./fax: ỵ30 210 5294938 E-mail addresses: gjn@aua.gr, nychas@hol.gr (G.-J.E Nychas) 0956-7135/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2012.05.050 geography, climate, agriculture, and lifestyle Needed ingredients or recipes of methods for the preparation of such foods have been passed from one generation to the other and become finally a part of the folklore of the country (Trichopoulou, Soukara, & Vasilopoulou, 2007) Traditional foods, apart of being vehicles of culture, could also possess health qualities, since tradition hardly supports foods which are not palatable and healthy A typical example of a dietary pattern with positive health aspects is the Mediterranean diet which is characterized by six components, E.Z Panagou et al / Food Control 29 (2013) 32e41 namely, high intake of vegetables, pulses, fruits, olive oil, nuts and cereals; low intake of saturated lipids; low to moderate intake of dairy products mainly in the form of cheese and yogurt; low intake of meat and poultry; moderately high intake of fish; and moderate intake of ethanol mostly in the form of wine (Trichopoulou, Costacou, Bamia, & Trichopoulos, 2003) For the production of traditional foods, local agricultural commodities are generally used as raw materials, contributing to a sustainable environment and employment of rural population Currently, the combination of healthy and palatable aspects is very attractive for the food industry and consumers, and consequently traditional foods could potentially be mass produced and exported This highlights the necessity for traditional food standardization and protection of origin and quality through appropriate legislation This is necessary for the producers and consumers, in order to protect the quality and identity of the products Moreover, the country of origin registration of these foods could motivate their small-scale production in family-owned installations and expand their export potential (Tregear, Arfini, Belleti, & Marescotti, 2007) However, the combination of artisan practices employed in traditional food manufacturing and the potential for poor hygienic conditions, prevailing especially in small-scale family-owned processing installations, may result in the contamination and survival of foodborne pathogens that may be present throughout the distribution chain until the time of consumption The incidence of foodborne disease in many countries across Europe is increasing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe (WHO, 2003) For instance, foodborne intoxications such as botulism remain frequent in Eastern Europe and in most cases are related to traditional ways of preserving foods at home The highest incidence of botulism was reported in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) and is attributed to the consumption of home-canned vegetables WHO data also show that although the incidence of salmonellosis is decreasing in several countries in Western Europe, the pathogen is still the most frequently reported cause of outbreaks in the WHO European Region, responsible for around 75% of the outbreaks Most of these are due to the consumption of foods of animal origin, particularly insufficiently cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, such as mayonnaise, ice cream or cream-filled pastries The aim of the review paper is to provide information about the hygienic condition and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in a diversity of popular traditional Greek foods including fermented meat products, cheese, table olives, and emulsion-type appetizers Safety issues with these products are also discussed Definition and basics of traditional Greek foods The history of Greek gastronomy is lost through written sources and indications coming from the greater Aegean area Greek cuisine has a long tradition and its flavors change according to season and geographic region Greek cookery, historically a forerunner of Western cuisine, spread its culinary influence e via ancient Rome e throughout Europe and beyond (Wilkins & Hill, 2006) Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the “Mediterranean triad”: wheat, olive oil, and wine, with meat being rarely eaten and fish being more common This trend in Greek diet continued in Roman and Ottoman times and changed only recently when technological progress has made meat more available Wine and olive oil have always been a central part of it and the spread of grapes and olive trees in the Mediterranean is associated with Greek colonization The Byzantine cuisine was similar to the classical cuisine including, however, new ingredients that were not available before, like caviar, nutmeg and lemons, with fish continuing to be an integral part of the diet Byzantine cuisine 33 benefited from Constantinople’s position as a global hub of the spice trade (Balatsouras, 2004) The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil, which is frequently used in the dishes It is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown Important vegetables include tomato, aubergine (eggplant), potato, green beans, okra, green peppers, and onions Honey in Greece is mainly derived from the nectar of fruit trees such as the citrus trees of lemon, orange, bigarade (bitter orange), and from thyme and pine from conifer trees The aromatic, ivory colored resin, mastic, is characteristic of the region as it is grown on the Aegean island of Chios (Dalby, 2001), and is common in the Greek diet Greek cuisine uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines do, namely oregano, mint, garlic, onion, and bay laurel leaves Other common herbs and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed Many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use “sweet” spices in combination with meat, for example cinnamon and cloves in stews (Hanlidou, Karousou, Kleftoyanni, & Kokkini, 2004) The climate and terrain has tended to favor the breeding of goats and sheep over cattle, and thus traditional beef dishes are uncommon, although this trend has changed in the last years, as beef has become the main meat item for many Greeks Fish dishes are mostly common in coastal regions and on the islands, but also throughout Greece, especially in major cities A great variety of traditional cheese types are also used in Greek cuisine, including Feta, Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Graviera, Anthotyros, Manouri, Metsovone, Mizithra, etc (Balatsouras, 2004) Traditional Greek foods 3.1 Traditional fermented meats The origin of fermented foods is lost in antiquity Fermentation became popular with the dawn of civilization because it not only preserved food but also gave it a variety of tastes, forms, and other sensory attributes (Campbell-Platt, 1994; Caplice & Fitzgerald, 1999; Prajapati & Nair, 2003) Traditional sausages are the most commonly produced fermented meat products in Greece In the past, most Greek rural families prepared them shortly before Christmas, when they slaughtered their home-grown pig(s), from pork meat and fat, chopped and mixed together with salt and seasonings The first document referring to meat curing is considered to be that of Homer In Odyssey (about 1000e900 BC) he describes a rather primitive type of sausage as “ smoked goatpaunches filled with blood and fat offered as an hors d’oeuvre ” The manufacturing methods were of course-and indeed still are in most areas-a craft (Gounadaki, Skandamis, Drosinos, & Nychas, 2007) The sausage mixture was stuffed in casings prepared from the small intestine of pigs and they were subsequently placed in cool rooms with sufficient aeration to allow for drying and consumed within a few weeks or in some places over the summer, a period in which substantial weight loss (ca 30%) occurred and “fresh” sausages became semi-dried products Today, although home production still occurs in the traditional way, large quantities are produced throughout the year at butchers’ shops and by meat processing companies (Papagianni, Ambrosiadis, & Filiousis, 2007) Traditional Greek sausages are produced with lean meat and fat and the addition of salt (1.6e2.5%), phosphates, nitrites, monosodium glutamate and ascorbic acid or its salt, sugar and various seasonings Lean or semi-lean pork and beef meat, pork bellies and pork fat can be used as raw materials The sausage mixture is then stuffed in natural casings but the products must be kept chilled 34 E.Z Panagou et al / Food Control 29 (2013) 32e41 until consumption This product is characterized as fresh and noncooked and may be partially dried or smoked, fat should not exceed 35% The product should be cooked before consumption The pH in the surface layer of the sausages varies between 4.67 and 6.09, and the aw value is ca 0.96 (Ambosiadis, Soultos, Abrahim, & Bloukas, 2004) The physicochemical, sensory and microbiological qualities of traditional Greek sausages have been characterized in two studies (Ambrosiadis et al., 2004; Drosinos et al., 2005), indicating that lactic acid bacteria are the dominant group of microorganisms, while identification of isolates showed high counts of Lactobacillus plantarum and L plantarum/pentosus (Drosinos et al., 2005) 3.2 Greek cheeses Greece has a long tradition in producing a variety of dairy products, among which cheeses have a dominant position, as the country possesses the second place, after France, in cheese consumption worldwide (FAO, 2005) Undoubtedly, the most important and famous Greek cheese with worldwide acceptance is Feta with an average annual consumption of about 12 kg per capita Feta is a protected designation of origin (PDO) soft white cheese ripened in brine, manufactured from ewes’ milk or a mixture of ewes’ and goats’ milk, in which the proportion of the latter is not higher than 20e30% (Manolopoulou et al., 2003) The most suitable period for Feta cheese production is from January to May depending on milk availability, as this is the milking season for sheep and goats Traditionally, this type of cheese is produced in small family-owned dairy installations with basic equipment with unpasteurized or pasteurized milk, following a craft and empirical process However, this situation has drastically changed and today Feta cheese is produced almost exclusively with pasteurized milk in well-equipped dairy factories around the country, using commercial lactic acid cultures (Anifantakis, 1991) Various starters have been successfully used, such as Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus bulgaricus in a ratio of 1:3, producing Feta cheese of ‘excellent’ or ‘first’ quality (Sarantinopoulos, Kalantzopoulos, & Tsakalidou, 2002) The milk is renneted at 32  C and coagulation takes place in 40e45 The resulting curd is cut (2 cm thick slices), transferred into vats with perforated inner walls and bottom, and pressed by a weight equal to that of the curd Cheese blocks (23 Â 12 Â cm) are then dry-salted for days at 16  C and left for 10 more days at the same temperature During this period a slime of surface-growing bacteria is developed, which is considered to contribute greatly to cheese ripening Later the cheese blocks are put into barrels or tin containers of 14 kg with brine (6e7% salt) in order to continue ripening at 2e5  C The Feta cheese may be consumed after ripening for at least two months (LitopoulouTzanetaki, Tzanetakis, & Vafopoulou-Mastrojianaki, 1993) Similar to Feta is the White cheese, in which the milk comes exclusively from cows Both products have a maximum permitted moisture content of 54% and a minimum fat content in dry matter of 46% (Zerfiridis, 2001) Other popular traditional cheeses of economic and nutritional importance are whey cheeses, namely Mizithra, Anthotyros and Manouri, manufactured commercially from the whey of Feta or hard cheeses (e.g Kefalotyri, Graviera) They are protected designation of origin (PDO) cheeses, with a maximum permitted moisture content of 60e70%, and a minimum fat content in dry matter of 50e70%, depending on cheese type (Kandarakis, 1986; Samelis, Kakouri, Rogga, Savvaidis, & Kontominas, 2003) These cheeses are usually consumed fresh within a few days or weeks of their production Their production is based on denaturation and coagulation of the water-soluble whey proteins following heating at high temperatures (>85  C), where the curd is typically collected as a surface pellicle from the coagulating whey system (Samelis et al., 2003) To enhance the content of cheese in protein and fat, it is common practice to supplement the whey with different concentrations of milk and milk fat prior to heating (Kandarakis, 1986) Due to thermal treatment of the whey, the indigenous microbiota is inactivated and starter cultures are not usually added during the process Consequently, this type of cheese is practically free of microorganisms provided that strict hygienic conditions are met However, subsequent handling of the curd results in postprocessing contamination with a variety of spoilage bacteria (Kalogridou-Vassiliadou, Tzanetakis, & Litopoulou-Tzanetaki, 1994; Lioliou, Litopoulou-Tzanetaki, Tzanetakis, & Robinson, 2001), rendering, thus, whey cheeses susceptible to rapid bacterial deterioration, particularly under abuse storage temperatures For this reason, the shelf-life of whey cheeses is rather limited ranging from less than days under aerobic conditions to 20e30 days when vacuum packaging is employed (Dermiki, Ntzimani, Badeka, Savvaidis, & Kontominas, 2008), unless dried like Mizithra Spread acid-curd soft white cheeses like Galotyri and Katiki are another category of traditional Greek PDO cheeses, with a maximum permitted moisture content of 75% and minimum fat content in dry matter of 40% for both types (Katsiari, Kondyli, & Voutsinas, 2008) Galotyri is considered as one of the oldest traditional cheeses in Greece and is popular in the regions of its origin, namely Epirus and Thessaly (Anifantakis, 1991) The cheese is white, spread acid-curd with a pH value of ca 4.0 It is characterized by pleasant organoleptic characteristics, acid taste and a mild aroma It is produced from raw or pasteurized ewes’ or goats’ milk or their mixture at various proportions with or without the supplement of starter cultures and rennet (Rogga et al., 2005) There is a National Individual Standard for this cheese (General Chemical State Laboratories, 1988, p 8401) which was further amended (Anonymous, 1994, pp 60e61) according to which the use of cows’ milk and/or milk powder or concentrates, as well as the addition of milk proteins, casein salts, coloring substances, or preservatives other than sodium chloride (common salt) are not allowed Based on traditional processing, the raw milk is boiled and subsequently placed in clay jars for approximately 24 h at ambient temperature Afterward, salt is added at a concentration of ca 3e4% (w/v) and the milk is left for days with periodic stirring to undergo a natural acidification Occasionally, rennet or yogurt culture may be added prior to salting to facilitate milk coagulation and acidification The curd is transferred to clean cheese cloth which is then from a rafter in the store room for curd draining at 15  C for ca h After draining, the curd is taken out on a clean board, mixed well with dry salt (1.5%, w/w) and sealed tightly in containers which are then placed in a cold storage room (