The present study aims to explore the dual broad‐spectrum antibacterial and antifungal potentials of Pediococcus acidilactici LAB001 (GenBank Ac. No.: FJ457014) against some food spoilage bacteria and fungi. The strain produced the highest amount of bacteriocin in a low‐cost TGE + Tween 80 + Buffer medium within 24 hr fermentation at 30°C. The bacteriocin causes lethality to spoilage bacteria with the loss of essential solute like K+. The sublethal injury by EDTA‐bacteriocin (20 mM EDTA with 2,000 AU/ml) treatment for 1 hr caused resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium MTCC98 strains to bacteriocin sensitive strains. The strain also had broad‐spectrum inhibitory efficacy against the food spoilage and toxigenic fungal pathogens of fresh and processed foods. Therefore, selective characterization and mass‐scale production of these antimicrobial compounds could substitute conventional synthetic food preservatives in many fresh and fermented food products to extend their shelf life. Practical applications The use of lactic acid bacteria for food fermentation and preservation has a long‐standing scientific validation. However, their uses greatly rely on the degree of fermenting and preservation aptitudes of the strains. This needs to search and explore new strains of LAB for these beneficial attributes. Pediococcus spp. are such an important group of LAB species that have multifaceted uses in food and feed fermentation and industrial exploitation. The present study reports on the dual broad‐spectrum efficacy of P. acidilactici LAB001 (GenBank Ac. No.: FJ457014) against the food spoilage and toxigenic bacterial and fungal strains through bacteriocin and antifungal compound production. The large‐scale production and application of the antimicrobial compounds from this strain can be used in food and feed preservation.

Probiotics, which are living, non-pathogenic microorganisms, can enhance a person's health, immunity, and mental function when taken in large quantities together with food. In the present study, seven microbial strains (L1, L2, C1, C2, C3, X, and Y) were isolated from locally collected fresh palm sap and characterized morphologically and biochemically. Among them, two strains were yeast (L1 and C3), two were Bacillus (C2, Y) and three were Cocci (L2, C1, X). All the bacterial isolates were gram-positive and catalase-negative. They showed a broad antimicrobial spectrum against both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis MB1, Leuconostoc messenteroides Ly) and gramnegative bacteria (Salmonella abony, Escherichia coli). There was little or no change in the growth after three hours of incubation at pH 2, 2.5 and 3. So all the strains were tolerant of gastric acidity. Bacterial isolates were checked for their survivability in the presence of bile salt. Strain L2 showed maximum tolerance to 0.3% bile salt. So, this strain can be further checked in vivo for its usefulness as a probiotic.