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REVIEW article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Food Microbiology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1580670

This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobial Derived Metabolites as Emerging Functional Ingredients in FoodView all articles

Lactic Acid Bacteria: Beyond Fermentation to Bio-protection Against Fungal Spoilage and Mycotoxins in Food Systems

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Department of Food Science,Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
  • 2Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
  • 3McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Recent outbreaks of foodborne diseases have highlighted the challenges of maintaining food safety, emphasizing the need for effective strategies to control pathogens and spoilage organisms. Toxins produced by indigenous fungi pose serious economic issues and undermine food security. Mycotoxin spoilage is a ubiquitous hazard that affects all food commodities; however, bakery products, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and meat are particularly vulnerable. The quality of food is perceived through senses such as taste, aroma, and texture. These sensory attributes significantly impact the overall sensation of the product and determine whether it will be accepted or rejected by consumers. Spoilage not only reduces consumer satisfaction but also drastically shortens the shelf life of food.This review highlights the ability of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LABs) to produce diverse antimicrobials, emphasizing antifungal metabolites as effective tools for enhancing food preservation and extending shelf life. As consumer demand for 'clean label' solutions increases, these natural antimicrobials promise safe and effective alternatives for enhancing food safety, reducing fungal spoilage, and extending shelf life of various perishable food commodities and reducing economic losses.

Keywords: antimicrobial, Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Bio-preservation, shelf-life, Fungal spoilage, Mycotoxins

Received: 20 Feb 2025; Accepted: 06 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Saifur, Soltani, LaPointe, Karboune and Fliss. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Ismail Fliss, Department of Food Science,Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food, Laval University, Quebec, Canada

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