Application of enterocins as biopreservatives against Listeria innocua in meat products

The antilisterial effect of enterocins A and B in meat and meat products (cooked ham, minced pork meat, deboned chicken breasts, pate. and slightly fermented sausages [espetec]) have been shown. An infective dose of 5 to 10 most probable numbers (MPN)/g to simulate the counts of Listeria generally found in meat products was used. Enterocins at 4,800 AU/g reduced the numbers of Listeria innocua by 7.98 log cycles in cooked ham and by 9 log cycles in pate when stored at 7 degrees C for 37 days. In deboned chicken breasts stored at 7 degrees C for 7 days, 4,800 AU/cm(2) of enterocins diminished the L. innocua counts in 5.26 log cycles when compared to the control batch. In minced pork meat held at 7 degrees C for up to 6 days, 1,600 AU/g kept L. innocua counts under 3 MPN/g, while the control batch reached 50 CFU/g. In espetec sausages, 648 AU/g diminished the number of L. innocua under 50 CFU/g from the fifth day until the end of the process (12 days) while the control batch kept the initial counts (3 x 10(4) CFU/g). This is the first report on enterocins showing an antilisterial effect in different types of meat products.