Application of bacteriocins as natural preservative in health and safety of food products

Nowadays, demand for new antimicrobial agents has brought great interest in new technologies to enhance food safety. One such antimicrobial molecule is bacteriocin, synthesised by various micro-organisms. While there is some interesting research on bacteriocins from Gram-negative bacteria, the majority of application-oriented studies are focused on bacteriocins from Gram positive microorganisms, mostly lactic acid bacteria. Bacteriocins are widely used in agriculture, food packaging and as a food preservative agent to control various infectious and food-borne Pathogens so they can effectively contribute to food safety. One new and emerging potential role for bacteriocins is likely to be aimed at functional foods. The possibility of developing bacteriocins into next generation antibiotics, accompanied with the rapid development in genetics and nanotechnology, paves the way to even more fascinating applications such as novel carrier molecules (delivery systems) and the treatment of cancer. The aim of the present study is to investigate the application of bacteriocins as natural preservative, health, packaging and safety of food products.

Keywords:

Bacteriocin , natural antimicrobials , preservation , safety , food packaging