Application of Bacteriocins in Meat and Meat Products: An Update

Being an important source of human enteric diseases, microbiological safety is one of the major risk concerns in the meat industry. In order to inhibit and inactivate microbial contamination and extend the shelf life of meat products, different procedures have been practiced, including the addition of bacteriocins as proteinaceous antagonistic preservatives. This article discusses the application of bacteriocins which are capable of controlling the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in meat and meat products. We identify possible ways to improve the performance of bacteriocins ensuring food safety and toxicity. We first provide a brief introduction to the classification of bacteriocins and then discuss their antimicrobial properties and mechanism of action alone and in combination with other hurdles in meat and meat products. Moreover, application methods of bacteriocins in meat products are described and cross-compared, introducing emerging meat products containing bacteriocins. Despite the existence of many reports related to the application of bacteriocin-producing strains of lactic acid bacteria in meat products, very few review articles have attempted at evaluating the application of bacteriocins in the red meat while observing their antimicrobial mechanism of action as well as evaluating their applications in meat products. The application of these proteins in meat products has received considerable attention; however, there are still some drawbacks and limitations for their application. Characterization, identification, toxicity evaluation and investigating application level of bacteriocins produced by meat borne/non-meat borne bacteria appears to be necessary in order to increase the efficiency of extending shelf life and improving the microbial stability of meat products.