Quorum Sensing and Quorum Quenching in Food-Related Bacteria

TOMADONI BARBARA; A.G. PONCE

Trends in Quorum Sensing and Quorum Quenching: New Perspectives and Applications

Taylor and Francis

Año: 2020; p. 307 - 319

An enormous amount of food is wasted because of food spoilage. Food spoilage can be caused by either physical or biochemical changes that occur naturally in food, or it can be producedby microbial activity (Ammor, Michaelidis, and Nychas 2008).The latter is the most common reason of food spoilage and it isof prior concern to the food industry, not only because of the economic loss that it implies, but also because it constitutes a healthhazard (Aswathanarayan and Vittal 2011).Food spoilage by microorganisms is manifested by visiblegrowth and changes in the food characteristics, mainly appearance, texture, and flavor. Microorganisms produce different typesof enzymes (i.e. saccharolytic, proteolytic, pectinolytic, and lipolytic enzymes) whose metabolic end products can be associatedwith food spoilage. These metabolic products can cause off-flavor that results in rejection of the product (Ammor, Michaelidis,and Nychas 2008). Most common food spoilage bacteria arePseudomonas spp., lactic acid bacteria (LAB), spore-forming bacteria (such as, Bacillus and Clostridium) and Enterobacteriaceae.Other important food spoilage bacteria include the Gram-negativeAcinetobacter, Achromobacter, Alcaligenes, Flavobacterium,Moraxella, Photobacterium, and Psychrobacter, and the Grampositive genera Brevibacterium, Brochothrix, Corynebacterium,and Micrococcus. These spoilage organisms tend to be associatedmainly with chilled proteinaceous foods (i.e. meat, fish, and theirderivative products) and dairy products.Some microorganisms in food products can cause diseasesand are considered a threat to human health. These are calledfoodborne pathogens, and may occur in all types of foods, fromfruits and vegetables, to dairy, fish, and meat products. Foodborne