# Evaluation of the Nutritional Quality and Shelf Life of
## 4 Discussion
### Humidity and Water Activity Analyses of the Salami-Type Fermented Sausages  
The values for S2 and S3 treatment containing _Lactobacillus_ kept the humidity percentage even higher, matching the results obtained in studies with salami containing probiotic strains, being present in between 32 and 35% of the finished product [29]. Therefore, it was understood that the main factors that influence humidity levels are the following: the amount of humidity in meat in nature above 70% which impacts derived products, the control of the physical parameters in the maturation and conservation process, and the presence of _Lactobacillus_.  
After 84 days of storage, it was possible to find humidity results showing that only assays 2 and 3 (containing probiotics in their composition) exhibited values lower than the maximum established in the legislation (40%), and close to the ones found in TACO (34.7%) [23; 30]. In view of the above, it was shown that humidity values were lower in assays S2 and S3 and higher in assay S1 during storage, which indicates that the presence of probiotic strains diminishes the absorption of relative humidity, since the conservation medium was made properly, with vacuum packaging under refrigeration between 5 and 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Some studies with different varieties of microbial cultures in the composition of fermented processed sheep meat had humidity values between 35.85 and 46.62% during storage, which agrees with what was found in this research for assays S1 and S2 during 0 and 84 days [22].  
Regarding water activity, values on day 0 are above the maximum according to legislation, which agrees with the humidity results found, since the higher the humidity, the higher the free water content, which is shown by water activity levels being high, which also makes the medium more susceptible to microbial growth [11]. Those values must be kept up to 0.92, since that indicates product stability and the end of processing, guaranteeing the product's quality until its expiration date.  
[PERSON] et al. (2018) also evaluated salami inoculated with _Lactobacillus_ and the results obtained were higher than the standard described in the legislation, which was between 0.93 and 0.97, showing coherence in the results found in the present study and indicating that the presence of probiotic strains can influence an increase in the final product's water activity. Many factors can affect high water activity levels, like the relation between the decrease in pH, the high humidity, the presence of probiotic strains, and maturation and storage conditions [22; 33].  
After 84 days of storage, the water activity set in the product changed, making the results from assays S2 and S3 fit the standards required by law (maximum of 0.92). Furthermore, all the assays showed a reduction in water activity during the maturation process when stored in proper conditions, which happened mostly because of the dehydration of salami, which showed similar results to the ones from a study with ripened Italian salami [34]. That result promotes a higher quality and safety guarantee, demonstrating that over time the presence of _Lactobacillus_ reduces the presence of available water in the medium where the pathogenic microorganisms could develop [11].