Bacteriocins of lactic acid bacteria to combat undesirable bacteria in dairy products

Non-thermal treatments and the use of natural antimicrobial compounds, whether deliberately added (ex situ) or produced in situ by food bacteria, are of considerable interest to the dairy industry. Foodgrade lactic acid bacteria (LAB), the majority of starter cultures applied in the dairy industry, possess an enormous antimicrobial potential. Bacteriocins, which are antibacterial peptides, are produced by all LAB species. Due to their antagonistic activities, bacteriocins can be used as non-thermal means to prevent spoilage, technical defects or safety problems in cheese, and to promote cheese quality. In the present review
paper, a state-of-the-art is given of the best-studied bacteriocins that may help to combat undesirable bacteria in dairy applications, i.e. nisins, lacticins, macedocin and a range of non-lantibiotic bacteriocins, in particular enterocins. Although bacteriocins and bacteriocin-producing starter or adjunct cultures are already applied industrially by cheese manufacturers, several drawbacks hinder wider applications.