Fungal Biostarter and Bacterial Occurrence of Dry-Aged Beef: The Sensory Quality and Volatile Aroma Compounds after 21 Days of Aging

In this study, we decided to test the hypothesis that the fungal biostarter M. flavus used during a 21-day beef dry-aging process significantly impacts the composition of other microorganisms, the profile of volatile compounds, meat hardness characteristics, and, consequently, the sensory quality. The experiments were performed on samples derived from animals crossbred between Holstein–Fresian cows and meat breed bulls. Two groups of samples were studied, including the control group, without biostarter, and a group inoculated with the M. flavus biostarter. Both sample groups were seasoned for 21 days in the dry-aging fridge. The physicochemical parameters (pH, color parameters), the chemical composition of muscle, the determination of the shear force, the profile of volatile compounds (VOCs), and the sensory quality were evaluated after aging. During this study, classical microbiological methods were used to investigate the influence of fungal biostarters on the growth and survival of bacteria and other fungi (e.g., yeasts) during the dry-aging process of beef (DAB). The M. flavus biostarter improved the sensory quality of DAB, allowing high sensory quality to be achieved after just 21 days. This is likely due to the diverse VOCs produced by the fungus, including 1-tetradecanol, 2-nonenal, trans-2-undecenoic acid, and the following esters: formic acid hexyl ester, 10-undecenoic acid methyl ester, and 4-methylpentanoic acid methyl ester. The presence of the biostarter had no significant effect on the number of the bacteria or the survivability of the L. monocytogenes on the meat’s surface in laboratory conditions.