Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Use of bioprocessed plant-based and dairy products to synthesize antim...
Coordinator
Innovative mitigation measures to reduce the risks through the application of bacterial pathogens challenges in food models. Tailored fermentation processes, based on QPS microorganisms (i.e., biocontrol agents, lactic acid bacteria, non-conventional yeasts, symbiotic culture of microorganisms) and hydrolysed food matrices, will be set-up and integrated in traditional food production protocols to increase food safety. Selected natural antimicrobials (e.g., essential oils) and hydrolysed raw matrices will be used to inactivate pathogens at food processing, storage, and retail levels.
Development of innovative additive(s) with reduced allergenic potential (M24)
Protocol of innovative microbiological cultures and fermentation for food improvement.
Food fermentations and their microbes provide an underexplored source for novel biotechnological applications. Because of the long history of safe lactic acid bacteria use in fermented foods, the exploration of useful enzymatic and (secondary) metabolic production capacities of these microorganism isolated from plant-based and dairy products are of main interest. These properties can lead to the direct (antagonism) or indirect use (metabolites/enzymes) of LAB to maintain the microbiological quality and safety of food products. Because of their large variety and microbial richness, fermented foods are a promising resource for the discovery of microorganisms. Furthermore, fermentation processes are relatively easy to set up, maintain and reproduce under specific conditions.
Plant-based matrix (e.g., legumes and pseudocereal) and dairy product and/or by-products will be fermented with ad-hoc selected lactic acid bacteria to release antimicrobial compounds. The fermentation protocol will be optimized to maximize the concentration of antimicrobial compounds. Antibacterial and antifungal in-vitro assay will be carried out as the first screening process to select the best combination and protocol to be used. Also, the incorporation of either the whole fermented matrix or extracted fraction in foods will be tested and the microbial stability of the final products will be investigated through in-situ spontaneous and induced contamination assay. The protocol to produce the final food product will be optimized according to the most promising results obtained in-vitro and in-situ.
We expect to produce foods with prolonged shelf-life. The most promising plant-based and dairy food matrix and microbial strains will be selected, and the fermentation protocol optimized to enhance the release of antimicrobial compounds. Also, we expect to optimize the formulation and preparation protocol to produce foods with fermented matrix or active extracts. The obtained model foods will be characterized.
