# Instrumental and Sensory Analyses of Salami from Autochthonous and Conventional Pig Breeds
## 1 Introduction  
The concept of local food, traditionally related to geographical origin, constitutes an important driver for consumer demand of typical products [1]. Moreover, aspects such as the history of preparation of a typical product, together with specific ingredients, represent an important part of quality perception in food [2, 3]. Traditional products are enriched by added cultural and identity values, as they contribute to the maintenance and development of the rural areas of their origins [4]. The word \"salami\" is used to define a specific type of dry fermented sausage that is air-dried or smoked and ripened for long time. Salami consumption, in Italy, is a perfect example of something that was historically considered to be a traditional national food that tends to differ from one region to another [5, 6, 7]. In the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of meat products manufactured with raw meat obtained from pigs of the same local or autochthonous breed [8]. Nowadays, in Mediterranean countries, the production of traditional dry-cured meat products, including dry-fermented sausages, which was previously based on local breeds,largely depends on commercial pig breeds and hybrids farmed under intensive production systems [9]. Indeed, even in Italy, the current pork-meat supply used to manufacture typical meat products relies on very few pig breeds [10], although it is well established that different genotypes (i.e., genetic diversity within species) can provide significant nutritional variation and counteract the loss of nutritional biodiversity in modern societies [11]. The lipid content of pork meat varies based on genotype, with different breeds containing different individual fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins [10; 12; 13]. In this context, only six (i.e., Apollo-Calabrese, Casertana, Cinta Senese, Mora Romagnola, Nero Siciliano, and Sarda) of the several native pigs identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are currently used for local food production [13; 14]. Mora Romagnola is an autochthonous pig breed farmed in the Emilia-Romagna region under extensive or semi-extensive systems and used to produce traditional products (i.e., dried hams and salami) [15; 16]. Recently, the Mora Romagnola Consortium has been founded to promote the visibility of these typical products and protect them from potential fraud; however, there is a lack of information concerning their quality and, in particular, sensory traits and linkages with a specific geographic origin (i.e., Protected Designation of Origin PDO and Protected Geographical Indication PGI) [15]. The sensory characteristics of dry-fermented salami derive from a large number of biochemical and physicochemical transformations that occur during fermentation and maturation. A gel-like texture is created following the bacterial acidification process, while color develops from the interactions between the myoglobin of the meat and nitrogen monoxide, originating from the nitrate and/or nitrite in the curing salt [9]. Lastly, the complex flavor of dry-fermented sausages is due to oxidative reactions and interactions between the sausage, meat enzymes, and microorganisms [17]. As a result, flavor development depends not only on the raw materials and processing conditions but also on the composition and metabolism of microbiota [9]. Therefore, since many variables are involved in defining the sensory profile of salami, a combined instrumental and sensory approach can be useful for highlighting the differences between samples and ensuring the authenticity of this type of traditional food. In fact, a combined instrumental and sensory approach could contribute to a more thorough evaluation of the characteristics of a food product, as well as its typicality [18]. Therefore, using a combined approach, this study aims to characterize Mora Romagnola salami and compare it with other products available on the Italian market obtained using conventional pig breeds.