The role of bacteriocins in food safety and quality

消费者对新鲜的、加工最少的、方便的食品的需求导致了冷藏即食食品的大量增加。目前，制冷是唯一可靠的障碍生长的食源性病原体，可以污染这些产品。乳酸菌产生抗菌肽，被称为细菌素，可以抑制一些致病菌的生长。这些微生物通常存在于真空包装食品中，但我们没有可靠的分析方法来检测食品中的细菌素。我们开发了一种使用基质辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱仪检测细菌素的灵敏方法，并将该方法用于确定食品中批准使用的细菌素nisin的命运。然而，我们还不能检测和量化食物中其他细菌素的产生。需要进一步研究以提高检测食品中细菌素的分析技术的灵敏度和特异性。

Consumer demand for fresh, minimally processed, convenient food products has resulted in a tremendous increase in the availability of refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods. Currently, refrigeration is the only reliable hurdle to the growth of foodborne pathogens that can contaminate these products. Lactic acid bacteria produce antibacterial peptides, known as bacteriocins, which inhibit the growth of some pathogenic bacteria. The organisms are commonly found on vacuum packaged foods but we do not have reliable analytical methods for the detection of bacteriocins in foods. We developed a sensitive method for detection of bacteriocins using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer and this method was used to determine the fate of nisin, a bacteriocin that is approved for use in foods. However, we have not been able to detect and quantify the production of other bacteriocins in foods. Further research is required to improve the sensitivity and specificity of analytical techniques for detection of bacteriocins produced in foods.