Lactic Acid Bacteria: Key in Food Production and Preservation

September 26, 2023

The Importance of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Food Production and Preservation

Every day, food processors, retailers, and consumers throw out spoiled food, so it comes as no surprise that proper preservation of food is an essential practice for food processors. Lactic acid bacteria play a critical role in the preservation of food; however, these microbes do far more than just keep food shelf stable. The lactic acid fermentation process performed by lactic acid bacteria can transform and enhance products, creating many desirable sensory qualities in products such as texture and flavor, as well as protect foods from the growth of harmful pathogens. Learn more about our pathogen testing solutions.

The lactic acid fermentation process also plays a critical role in the production of many of our everyday food items, such as meats, poultry and seafood (fermented sausage, raw sausage, ready-to-eat meats); dressings (blue cheese, Dijon mustard, ranch, balsamic vinaigrette, French dressing, Greek yogurt dressings); sauces (mayonnaise, mustard, salsa, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire); pickled vegetables (cucumbers, sauerkraut, bagged salad); dairy (buttermilk, cheese, sour cream, milk, cottage cheese); dairy-based beverages; and other beverages such as kombucha.

As a result of lactic acid bacteria’s role across many everyday food products, specifically in the preservation of food shelf life, creation of sensory qualities, and protection again pathogens, it is important to recognize the benefits and risks of lactic acid bacteria in food safety.

 

Influence on Food Safety and Quality

When consumers think of preservatives, they typically think of chemical preservatives; however, lactic acid bacteria provide a natural and organic way of preserving food and is one of the oldest forms of biopreservation. Additionally, lactic acid bacteria aid in the prevention of harmful pathogens in food, such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, by inhibiting pathogens with an acidic environment created through the lactic acid fermentation of sugars into acid, as well as the production of a range of metabolites with antimicrobial properties such as hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid, antifungal compounds, and bacteriocins. The productions of these microbial byproducts keep bacterial populations in check and prevents them from growing out of control. Therefore, lactic acid bacteria can extend the shelf life of food while also preserving and protecting it from other contaminating organisms.

Although food processors add these cultures to their food for preservation, competitive exclusion from pathogens, and desirable sensory traits, lactic acid bacteria can grow beyond the desirable level, causing major spoilage to product. Testing for lactic acid bacteria is not a regulated or required assay, resulting in many misconceptions about the importance of testing for this bacteria group. When left unchecked, these normally useful bacteria can cause undesirable changes, such as greening of meat, excess gas formation in cheese, bloating or exploding of vacuum sealed pouches, off flavors, slime on meats, and ropy beverages. This not only contributes to food waste and costly recalls, but can also damage a brand’s reputation.

Oftentimes, it is not until food processors experience major spoilage issues that they realize the importance of testing for this group. Therefore, it is important for food processors to develop and understand their product specifications for lactic acid bacteria through routine testing of these organisms.

 

Utilizing Neogen®’s Lactic Acid Bacteria Expertise

As a leader in food safety, Neogen Food Safety understands the role lactic acid bacteria play in product shelf life, final product quality, and pathogen protection. To reap the best benefits of this natural additive, Neogen recommends the testing of lactic acid bacteria to understand a product’s specification. In screening for the presence and prevalence of lactic acid bacteria, Neogen offers two industry-leading methods of detection for lactic acid bacteria.

The Neogen Petrifilm® Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plate is a timesaving, sample-ready plate designed to determine total lactic acid bacteria populations in food and environmental samples. This product is especially beneficial to food processors who are conducting initial tests to determine a product’s specifications for lactic acid bacteria. Additionally, the Petrifilm Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plate is the first and only Associate of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) validated method on the market for lactic acid bacteria testing.

Oftentimes, food processors will manually create anaerobic testing methods due to the tendency for lactic acid bacteria to grow in anaerobic environments (although they can also grow aerobically). However, to create an anaerobic environment for testing, food processors need to use large, expensive CO2 incubators or anaerobic jars with carbon-releasing sachets to create an anaerobic environment. Petrifilm Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plates contain an oxygen scavenging technology that creates a completely self-contained anaerobic environment that can be incubated in a standard incubator.

Additionally, Neogen’s Soleris® Next Generation System provides another option for food processors. The system is an automated solution for processors that provides qualitative results, indicating whether or not there are lactic acid bacteria present in the product. The Soleris system consists of Neogen’s Next Generation instrument, ready-to-use culture media vials, and system software. This automated solution is suitable for processors conducting daily tests to ensure products are below their specification each day.

Lactic acid bacteria play a large role in the preservation of everyday food products, in addition to the protection against harmful pathogens. However, lactic acid bacteria come with the risk of growing out of control, resulting in spoiled product. It is important for food processors to proactively test the levels of lactic acid bacteria to develop specifications of their products to ensure product does not spoil before the shelf life is met. Utilizing Neogen Food Safety’s advanced lactic acid bacteria testing products, such as the Petrifilm Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plate and Soleris Next Generation System, can help determine a product’s lactic acid bacteria specifications, ensure levels are under product specifications, and reduce cross-contamination between lactic acid bacteria products and non-lactic acid bacteria products.

Contact a Neogen representative to learn more about how Neogen Food Safety solutions can advance your lab’s lactic acid bacteria program.

For more food safety content, view our webinars.

Don't miss out on updates about upcoming webinars, blog posts, industry events, and special offers. Subscribe now.

View our special offers on products that could help with your environmental monitoring needs.

Why Not Contact Us Today?

Thank you for contacting us. We will be in touch with you soon.


Category: Food Safety, Consumer Goods, Dietary Supplements, Food & Beverage, Milling & Grain, Pet Food, Adulteration, Allergens, Microbiology, Environmental Monitoring