The Role of Microorganisms and Their Antibacterial Compounds in Food Biopreservation

Abstract

The increase in the nutritional awareness of consumers has meant that products with high nutritional value, sensory attractiveness, and safety are currently being sought on the market. One of the aspects in which the innovativeness of a food product can be considered is the preservation method. Fermentation is considered one of the oldest methods. In practice, biopreservation is primarily a method of using non-pathogenic microorganisms and/or their metabolites to increase microbiological safety and extend food shelf life. Advances in microbiology and genetic engineering, taking into account various sources of microbiota isolation, have rediscovered the fermentation process and allowed us to obtain innovative functional products. Recently, bacteriocins have gained importance. For many years, they have been applied as biopreservatives in food manufacturing, alone or in combination with other preservatives. The most promising perspective of food preservation seems to be the development of combined systems including natural preservatives (i.e., bacteriocin and lipopeptides), emerging non-thermal technologies, and other methods such as encapsulation nanotechnology and active packaging. In this paper, a narrative review is presented to analyze the most recently published literature regarding the role of microorganisms and microbial produced antibacterial compounds in food biopreservation. New biopreservation technologies as an alternative to artificial preservatives were also discussed.