Use of Live Biopreservatives and Bacteriophages to Enhance the Safety of Meat Products

Abstract

Critical health considerations for both raw and processed meats include addressing bacterial spoilage and ensuring safety. Nitrites and nitrates are widely used in the meat industry to enhance color and flavor and extend shelf life. However, health concerns linked to their use make reducing nitrites and nitrates in meat production a significant challenge with potential benefits for both the food industry and consumer health. This challenge has been addressed with the use of biopreservatives, i.e., substances extracted from natural sources or produced by fermentation that can enhance food quality and safety. In this article, we assess the use of live biopreservatives (LBs), defined here as microorganisms that produce antimicrobial substances that can be used to preserve and extend the shelf life of food. Moreover, the potential synergistic effects of LBs with bacteriophages and biodegradable food packaging for meat is also explored. This innovative combination offers a comprehensive approach to meat preservation, enhancing both microbial control and sustainability. Overall, the inclusion of LBs extends the shelf life of meat products through bacteriostatic mechanisms, whereas bacteriophages offer direct (lytic) action against pathogens. Enhancing meat preservation and safety with mixed microbe-mediated strategies requires deeper empirical and theoretical insights and further revision of laws and ethical considerations.

Keywords: bacteriocins; bacteriophages; biodegradable food packaging; environmental microbes; foodborne pathogens; interaction models; lactic acid bacteria; live biopreservatives; meat safety; microevolutionary models; natural antimicrobials; nitrites.

Figure 1

Main characteristics of live biopreservatives (LBs). LBs are microbial strains that can be utilized as food preservatives because they have the capacity to secrete antimicrobial substances (such as lactic and acetic acids and bacteriocins). Furthermore, they need to present the following desirable characteristics: antimicrobial properties; absence of pathogenicity elements; limited impact on product characteristics; biopreservation action spanning a wide range of temperatures, water activity and pH levels; and lower impact on the gut microbiota.

Figure 2

Future perspectives. The utilization of live biopreservatives (LBs) as bacteriostatic agents, combined with the use of lytic bacteriophages, poses future research and innovation challenges for the meat industry. (A) Biodegradable food packaging has been in the market for a few years already. However, its potential interactions with LBs are not yet fully understood. Moreover, the combination of LBs (bacteriostatic effect), bacteriophages (bacteriolytic effect), and biodegradable food packaging has never been tested. (B) A reduction in the use of nitrites and nitrates will bring potential benefits to the food industry, the environment, and consumer health. However, before they can reach the market, LBs require further investigations into their economic challenges. Furthermore, bacteriophages are not yet regulated as biopreservatives by the major regulatory agencies, including those in the European Union and the United States. (C) Lactic acid bacteria and bacteriocins have performed well in controlled settings. However, antimicrobial agents need to be scaled up to demonstrate their usability in highly complex meat matrices. (D) Antimicrobial resistance is a major global challenge. Interspecific horizontal gene transfer (HGT), including the exchange of antimicrobial resistance genes, is pervasive in bacteria. Future experiments on the use of LBs and bacteriophages need to explore the potential highways for HGT that can be created between LBs and environmental microbes.

Figure 3

Hypothetical model of the action of live biopreservatives (LBs) and bacteriophages. Birth-and-death models for assessing the effect of LBs and bacteriophages on meat production. λ: birth rate and μ: death rate. The parameters (λ, μ) vary based on the microbes and experimental conditions (physicochemical properties, bacteriophages, and LBs). The synergistic interaction of LBs, bacteriophages, and the physicochemical properties of the food matrix, processing, and packaging on pathogen growth can be quantified using variations of the classic dynamic interaction equations (Equations (1)–(3)).