title: Lactic acid bacteria and their controversial role in fresh meat spoilage.
abstract: Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) constitute a heterogeneous group that has been widely associated with fresh meat and cooked meat products. They represent a controversial cohort of microbial species that either contribute to spoilage through generation of offensive metabolites and the subsequent organoleptic downgrading of meat or serve as bioprotective agents with strains of certain species causing unperceivable or no alterations. Therefore, significant distinction among biotypes is substantiated by studies determining spoilage potential as a strain-specific trait corroborating the need to revisit the concept of spoilage.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Member of Food2Know, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Vasileios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pothakos
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Member of Food2Know, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Devlieghere
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Division of Microbiology, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villani
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Björkroth
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Division of Microbiology, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, Italy. Electronic address: ercolini@unina.it.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ercolini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056573:Carnobacterium; D005516:Food Microbiology; D018857:Food Packaging; D061353:Food Storage; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid; D007778:Lactobacillus; D007934:Leuconostoc; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid
keywords: Carnobacterium; Food packaging; Lactic acid bacteria; Leuconostoc gelidum; Meat spoilage