Coating fruits and vegetables with probiotic bacteria (LAB) to enhance food safety
Author(s):
Swapna, Mahadevaswamy, Udaykumar Nidoni, Amrutha G and PF Mathad
Abstract:
After harvesting fruits and vegetables, due to bad storage and transportation conditions, lack of good quality control measures and preservation techniques against food contaminants impact food safety and security. The persistence of microorganisms on food contact surfaces, equipment and processing environments has been reported as a main contributing factor in food-borne outbreaks, in particular, Salmonella, E. coli, B. cereus and L. monocytogenes which even endanger consumer safety and contribute to food-borne illness (Number and others 2012). In addition, disease-causing microorganisms like Aspergillus, Botrytis, Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Alternaria, Penicillium, Phomopsis, Rhizoctonia and Rhizopus genera are responsible for reducing the shelf life of different fruits and vegetables. Though chemical fungicides proved to be highly effective against a wide range of pathogens in foods, their potential negative impact on human health and reduce the rate of antibiotic-resistant strains, has prompted research on the use of native probiotic bacteria to inhibit the growth of food contaminants and pathogens in order to prevent food-related illness to humans and to increase the shelf life of different fruits and vegetables, respectively.
How to cite this article:
Swapna, Mahadevaswamy, Udaykumar Nidoni, Amrutha G and PF Mathad. Coating fruits and vegetables with probiotic bacteria (LAB) to enhance food safety. The Pharma Innovation Journal. 2022; 11(12S): 12-15.