Starter cultures as a reservoir of antibiotic resistant microorganisms

Starter cultures are selected microbial strains intentionally added to food to obtain a product with desired organoleptic characteristics. The most important group of microorganisms used in starter cultures are bacteria, mostly lactic acid bacteria (LAB). For many years the safety criteria for the use of starter cultures in food production were based mainly on their long history of safe use. However, recent research indicates that starter culture microorganisms are able to acquire antibiotic resistance genes. Starter culture microorganisms can carry variously sized plasmids with resistance determinants. These strains have a high potential for transmitting resistance genes, which raises concerns regarding the antibiotic resistance of food-related bacteria. It should be noted that the antibiotic resistance of starter culture bacteria does not pose a direct risk to consumers because they are not pathogenic. However, they can act as environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance determinants. Therefore, bacteria that harbor antibiotic resistance genes on mobile genetic elements should not be used in food production. In addition, it is reported that stress factors associated with the production and storage of food may affect the changes in the antibiotic resistance profile of these microorganisms. Research indicates that the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in starter cultures is not a critical problem, but it poses a concern that cannot be disregarded.