Abstract
Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is, undoubtedly, a healthy habit that should be adopted by everyone (particularly due to the nutrients and functional properties of fruits and vegetables). However, at the same time, due to their production in the external environment, there is an increased risk of their being infected with various pathogenic microorganisms, some of which cause serious foodborne illnesses. In order to preserve and distribute safe, raw, and minimally processed fruits and vegetables, many strategies have been proposed, including bioprotection. The use of lactic acid bacteria in raw and minimally processed fruits and vegetables helps to better maintain their quality by extending their shelf life, causing a significant reduction and inhibition of the action of important foodborne pathogens. The antibacterial effect of lactic acid bacteria is attributed to its ability to produce antimicrobial compounds, including bacteriocins, with strong competitive action against many microorganisms. The use of bacteriocins, both separately and in combination with edible coatings, is considered a very promising approach for microbiological quality, and safety for postharvest storage of raw and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Therefore, the purpose of the review is to discuss the biopreservation of fresh fruits and vegetables through the use of lactic acid bacteria as a green and safe technique.
Highlights
A healthy diet includes eating fruits and vegetables; their consumption is recommended by several government agencies because of their nutritional and medicinal properties [1] and low energy content [2]
Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. [21], and Listeria monocytogenes are the main foodborne pathogens that exist on the surface of cut fruits and vegetables, causing serious damage to human health [18,70]
The results showed the total inhibition of L. monocytogenes and the reduction in population of S
Summary
A healthy diet includes eating fruits and vegetables; their consumption is recommended by several government agencies because of their nutritional and medicinal properties [1] and low energy content [2]. Mechanical wounding of fresh fresh-cut fruits and vegetables increases the rate of respiration, which is directly connected with short postharvest life [17] These products are ready for consumption without any further possible microbiological treatment, so quality and safety issues are very urgent for consumer health [6]. The use of chlorine as a sanitizing agent poses serious risks to human health due to production of carcinogenic halogenated compounds [15] European countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium have taken into account all of the health issues that have arisen, and have banned the use of chlorine in disinfection of fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Recent developments in novel shelf life extension technologies applied to fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables—in order to maintain or improve the quality and safety of them (with the use of LAB as a biopreservation method)—will be discussed
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