Bacteriocins From Lactic Acid Bacteria: New Generation of Natural Antimicrobials With High Potential for the Food Production and Processing Sectors

This project was designed to address real issues in the food and animal sectors. For the food sector, the use of chemical additives and salt is an approach that is increasingly challenged by consumers who demand long shelf life foods without "clean label" chemical additives.

In animal production, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters is now a major health problem because of multi-resistant pathogens. It is therefore clear that the search for effective alternatives to chemical additives and antibiotics has become an emergency for these sectors.

This project will focus on the development and characterization of new antimicrobial ingredients based on high-value bacteriocins. This project will also attempt to demonstrate, through an integrated scientific approach, the potential application of these ingredients as alternatives to chemical additives and antibiotics in the food and veterinary sectors.

At the end of this project, products with very high added value and which are transferable to industry will be developed. Solid scientific evidence and technico-economic data will be generated to demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of these ingredients in large-scale trials in different applications. These data are of paramount importance for the registration of these ingredients by regulatory agencies such as Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and their use as new food additives or as alternatives to antibiotics by the partners.