Penicillium nalgiovense, -Penicillium olsonii. NEW FUNGAL SPECIES FOUND IN SALAMI DELIGHTFULLY NAMED 'PENICILLIUM SALAMII'

To find a new species of mold, look no further than inside your sandwich. A team of food scientists from across Europe have discovered a new kind of fungus growing on salami, which they’ve aptly named Penicillium salamii. The researchers made the find after setting out to catalogue all of the fungi located on cured meats at a meat packing plant in Italy. The survey was part of a government initiative to increase food safety, the study says. Generally, salami uses Penicillium nalgiovense--a white, edible mold--in the meat curing process. When the salami is cased, spiced, and ready to go, meat producers introduce the mold to seal in flavors and keep other potentially dangerous molds out. Using DNA sequencing, the team identified two fungi living on the cured meats they analyzed: Penicillium nalgiovense, the typical mold, and another mold that seemed to be related to Penicillium olsonii. But it wasn’t exactly the same. Olsonii can grow on cured meats naturally, but when the researchers looked at the fungi found on the Italian meats at a molecular level, they noticed -READ MORE-http://www.popsci.com/scientists-discover-new-fungal-species-salami