{"id":9641,"date":"2023-03-01T19:26:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amerexingredientes.com\/?p=9641"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:06:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:06:17","slug":"natural-food-preservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amerexingredientes.com\/en\/natural-food-preservation\/","title":{"rendered":"BIOTECHNOLOGY AND NATURAL FOOD PRESERVATION MECHANISMS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Amerex\u2019 Blog which continues with a very interesting post for food manufacturers that follows the consumer demand for natural or minimally processed foods and without chemical additives in their composition. In this line, the food industry has worked and continues to work in the application of biotechnology<\/strong> to develop safe and effective foods against contaminating microorganisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which are the mechanisms of natural preservation by lactic-acid bacteria (LAB)?<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lactic acid bacteria<\/strong> are a group of fermenting and lactic-acid producing bacteria, which helps the industry to give certain qualities to the foods as well as a protective function against the action of other harmful microorganisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These starters rely on various mechanisms to carry out this protective function. These include the traditional mechanisms of competition<\/strong> as well as food ripening, growth markers<\/strong> or the generation of a wide variety of metabolites that inhibit<\/strong> the growth of other bacteria (such as bacteriocins).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each starter has different mechanisms of action and levels of activity. We can find bacteria with a wide spectrum of efficacy against spoilage microorganisms, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative. It is worth mentioning that bacteria that are similar to their competitors usually find the mechanisms for their inhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn a little bit more about these natural preservation mechanisms with starters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can a starter preserve naturally through competition and ripening?<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The best known way of preservation by starters is through the ripening of the product<\/strong>. This normally includes an organoleptic change in the product by acidification. However, there are other starters in which their protective capacity is also linked to their growth, but not necessarily to a transformation by fermentation. We are talking about preservation through competition<\/strong>: a high number of harmless bacteria competing for food and culture medium, making it difficult for invasive microorganisms to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can a ferment naturally conserve through metabolites and growth markers?<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the starter cultures grow, they leave a trace of their growth in the culture medium or in the food matrix, which is what we call “growth markers<\/strong>“. Thus, bacteria similar to these starters understand that this is not the best place to survive, so this is another natural conservation mechanism provided by starters. This includes metabolites that are developed by all of them as they grow. Obviously, there will be bacteria that are more specialized than others in their growth. These metabolites are very small peptides that are denaturized when in contact with human saliva, they are safe and like their bacteria, they do not create resistance to antibiotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In which foods does the food industry apply the use of starters as natural preservation mechanisms?<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about natural food preservation<\/strong>, protective starters are highly effective in the preservation of a wide variety of foods such as meat, dairy products, fish, beverages, sauces… among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some examples of the most common applications of these microorganisms and mechanisms in different foods are the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n