Microbes versus microbes: control of pathogens in the food chain

Abstract

Foodborne illness continues as a considerable threat to public health. Despite improved hygiene management systems and increased regulation, pathogenic bacteria still contaminate food, causing sporadic cases of illness and disease outbreaks worldwide. For many centuries, microbial antagonism has been used in food processing to improve food safety. An understanding of the mode of action of this microbial antagonism has been gained in recent years and potential applications in food and feed safety are now being explored. This review focuses on the potential opportunities presented, and the limitations, of using microbial antagonism as a biocontrol mechanism to reduce contamination along the food chain; including animal feed as its first link. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Polyphenol, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of six different white and red wine grape processing leftovers

“…are more sensitive Gram-negative bacteria, probably as a result of their ecological features, and their different mechanisms and regulation pathways. 5,21,35,36 However, the FDSS extracts from the white grape varieties 'Zelen' and 'Sauvignon Blanc' had better antimicrobial activities against Gram-negative bacteria in comparison to the rest of the FDSSs, which might be attributed to the flavonols in these FDSS. The 'Sauvignon Blanc' and 'Zelen' FDSS extracts showed the highest levels of total flavonoids, and this might be the reason for the good antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria observed for these.…”

“…Campylobacter spp. are more sensitive Gram‐negative bacteria, probably as a result of their ecological features, and their different mechanisms and regulation pathways . However, the FDSS extracts from the white grape varieties ‘Zelen’ and ‘Sauvignon Blanc’ had better antimicrobial activities against Gram‐negative bacteria in comparison to the rest of the FDSSs, which might be attributed to the flavonols in these FDSS.…”

“…38 As commonly found pathogens in food-processing environments, complete elimination of Listeria and Campylobacter is difficult, 34,39 and the present data indicate that one of the reasons for this is their attachment to food-contact surfaces. For C. jejuni and L. monocytogenes, different adhesion is reported, 20,39,40 and a number of factors have been presented that can affect cell adhesion, 34,35,39 although studies on the attachment of bacteria to stainless steel surfaces have been limited. Previously, we reported the use of a thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) extract and post-distillation waste, and of olive (Olea europea L.) leaf extracts, against Campylobacter growth and adhesion.…”

Reduced contamination and infection via inhibition of adhesion of foodborne bacteria to abiotic polystyrene and biotic amoeba surfaces

“…The attachment of the human pathogenic intestinal bacteria Listeria monocytogenes , Campylobacter jejuni and Escherichia coli to surfaces that are in contact with food represents a serious concern in the food industry, due to the formation of bacterial biofilms (Phillips, ). These enable further adaptation of the bacteria and are associated with high frequency of resistance, activation of stress response mechanisms for bacterial survival and persistence of these bacteria in the food production chain (Jordan et al ., ; Bridier et al ., ). Adhesion is also a prerequisite for bacterial colonisation within a host, and this can enable further bacterial dissemination and intracellular invasion (Ribet & Cossart, ).…”

How microbes communicate in food: a review of signaling molecules and their impact on food quality

“…However, examples reporting microbial interactions linked to quorum sensing in the food chain or even in model systems remain very scarce [18]. We report here a few examples of microbe interactions due to quorum sensing without knowing if they work in foods.…”