Assessment of the bioprotective potential of lactic acid bacteria against Listeria monocytogenes on vacuum-packed cold-smoked salmon stored at 8 °C.

Smoked salmon is a highly appreciated delicatessen product. Nevertheless, this ready-to-eat (RTE) product is considered at risk for Listeria monocytogenes, due to both the prevalence and growth potential of this bacteria on the product. Biopreservation may be considered a mild and natural effective strategy for minimizing this risk. In this study, we evaluated the following three potential bioprotective lactic acid bacterial strains against L. monocytogenes in three smoked salmon types with different physicochemical characteristics, primarily fat, moisture, phenol and acid acetic content: two bacteriocin-like producers that were isolated from smoked salmon and identified as Lactobacillus curvatus and Carnobacterium maltaromaticum and a recognized bioprotective bacteriocin producer from meat origin, Lactobacillus sakei CTC494. L. sakei CTC494 inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes after 21 days of storage at 8 °C in all the products tested, whereas L. curvatus CTC1742 only limited the growth of the pathogen (<2 log increase). The effectiveness of C. maltaromaticum CTC1741 was dependent on the product type; this strain limited the growth of the pathogen in only one smoked salmon type. These results suggest that the meat-borne starter culture, L. sakei CTC494, may potentially be used as a bioprotective culture to improve the food safety of cold-smoked salmon.

Assessment of safe enterococci as bioprotective cultures in low-acid fermented sausages combined with high hydrostatic pressure.

Three bacteriocinogenic, non-aminogenic and non-virulent Enterococcus strains (Enterococcus faecium CTC8005, Enterococcus devriesei CTC8006 and Enterococcus casseliflavus CTC8003) were used as starter cultures in low-acid fermented sausages to assess their competitiveness and their bioprotective potential against Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. The inoculated strains were successfully monitored by RAPD-PCR. All the strains were able to grow, survive and dominate the endogenous enterococci population and avoided the growth of Enterobacteriaceae. E. devriesei CTC8006 and E. faecium CTC8005 particularly inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes during the whole ripening process. S. aureus was not affected by the inoculated bacteriocinogenic enterococci strains. The application of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment (600 MPa for 5 min) at the end of ripening (day 21) produced an immediate reduction in the counts of Enterobacteriaceae to levels <1 log cfu/g and promoted a decrease of 1-log unit in the counts of S. aureus. E. faecium CTC8005, which reduced the counts of L. monocytogenes ca. 2 log cfu/g immediately after stuffing and in combination with HHP treatment promoted a further reduction of 1 log cfu/g in the pathogen counts. The combination of E. faecium CTC8005 and HHP was the most efficient antilisterial approach.

Assessment of high hydrostatic pressure and starter culture on the quality properties of low-acid fermented sausages.

The addition of starter culture and high pressure processing after ripening improved the microbial quality of low-acid fermented sausages (fuet and chorizo). The use of Lactobacillus sakei CTC6626 and Staphylococcus xylosus CTC6013 as starter culture significantly reduced Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcus levels in the finished sausages. Moreover, the addition of starter culture produced sausages of similar quality to traditional low-acid fermented sausages. Slightly lower pH values and higher cohesiveness were obtained for both fuet and chorizo with starter culture. Sensory analysis showed no differences between lots of chorizo whereas starter fuet was more acid and gummy. High pressure induced an additional reduction of Enterobacteriaceae in non-starter sausages. An increase of textural properties was observed after pressurization. No other differences were observed between non-treated and pressurized sausages.