Evaluation of shelf life and technological properties of bread elaborated with lactic acid bacteria fermented whey as a bio-preservation ingredient

Nowadays, food lost by fungal contamination is one of the main safety problems for the bakery industry. As the consumer is rejecting the use of regular food additives new methods are being investigated. One of the more promising alternatives is the use of microorganism in the preservation of food, bio-preservation. In this article the ability of a lactic acid bacteria fermented whey was assessed as bio-preservative ingredient to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. in bread. The rheological, mechanical and antifungal properties of 3 different concentrations of this ingredient were studied. Results evidence that the addition lactic acid bacteria fermented whey in a of a 5% concentration did not modify drastically the quality of the bread, increased the occurrence of antifungal metabolites such as lactic acid and phenyllactic acid and managed to extend the shelf life from bread contaminated with Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium verrucosum and significantly reduced the fungal population of Penicillium verrucosum in the bread after 7 days in comparation to a regular bread.

Automated summary

Nowadays, fungal contamination causing food loss is a major safety problem in the bakery industry. As consumers reject the use of regular food additives, new preservation methods are being investigated. This study assessed the potential of lactic acid bacteria fermented whey as a bio-preservative ingredient for inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus and Penicillium in bread. Results showed that adding 5% lactic acid bacteria fermented whey did not significantly affect bread quality, increased the production of antifungal metabolites, and extended the shelf life of bread contaminated with Aspergillus and Penicillium.