Modelling contributes to the understanding of the different behaviour of bacteriocin-producing strains in a meat environment

Bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria are potent antibacterial agents that enable the producer cells to selectively and efficiently inhibit a part of the competing background flora, including several spoilage bacteria and foodborne pathogens. The use of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacterium strains, either as starters or as protective cultures, is very limited in the Food industry, possibly because many questions about the in situ functionality of such strains remain unanswered. A modelling approach was developed to study the functionality of lactic acid bacterium bacteriocin producers in a meat environment. The kinetic properties of three potential bacteriocin-producing starter cultures for sausage fermentation, namely Lactobacillus sakei CTC 494, Lactobacillus curvatus LTH 1174, and Lactobacillus amylovorus DCE 471 were compared in MRS, used as a meat simulation medium. Moreover, the application possibilities of the bacteriocin-producing Enterococcus faecium RZS C5 strain were evaluated. It turned out that growth and bacteriocin production by Lb. sakei CTC 494 and Lb. curvatus LTH 1174 are adapted to the meat environment, whereas Lb. amylovorus DCE 471 is kinetically not able to dominate the meat fermentation process. Furthermore, the use of bacteriocin-producing enterococci as functional cocultures seems to be attractive. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.