Food biopreservation: Promising strategies using bacteriocins, bacteriophages and endolysins

Abstract

The interest in biopreservation of food has prompted the quest for new natural antimicrobial compounds from different origins. Bacteriocins have been widely recognized as natural food biopreservatives but lastest advances on bateriocin biology have opened new fields to explore. On the contrary, the use of bacteriophages and endolysins has only been considered in the last five years and recent developments have produced promising perspectives. This review provides an overview of the current and foreseen applications of bacteriocins, bacteriophages and phage-encoded endolysins along the food chain and highlights research topics to be addressed in the future. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.