The Role of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Meat Products, Not Just as Starter Cultures.

Lactic acid bacteria (LABs) are microorganisms of significant scientific and industrial importance and have great potential for application in meat and meat products. This comprehensive review addresses the main characteristics of LABs, their nutritional, functional, and technological benefits, and especially their importance not only as starter cultures. LABs produce several metabolites during their fermentation process, which include bioactive compounds, such as peptides with antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and immunomodulatory properties.

Enhanced HPLC Method for Boar Taint Quantification.

Boar taint is an unpleasant odour found in the carcasses of entire male pigs, resulting from androstenone and skatole accumulation during pubertal development, and impacting pork quality. This study proposes the validation of an adapted chromatographic method for quantifying skatole and androstenone in the pigs' liquid fat using fluorescence detection. A good chromatographic separation was achieved, with skatole (SKA) and androstenone (AND) elution at 4.

The Society of Information and the European Citizens' Perception of Climate Change: Natural or Anthropological Causes.

The scientific community has reached a consensus on humans' important role as causative agents of climate change; however, branches of society are still sceptical about this. Climate change is a key issue for humanity and only the commitment to change human attitudes and lifestyles, at the global level, can be effective in its mitigation. With this purpose, it is important to convey the right message and prevent misinformation to manipulate people's minds.

Effect of Immunocastration on Culled Sows-A Preliminary Study on Reproductive Tract, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality.

The Bísaro pig is a Portuguese autochthonous breed greatly appreciated for its meat quality and is mainly reared outdoors. Immunocastration could be a solution to avoid undesirable pregnancies and boar taint in cull sows. The present study tested three immunocastration protocols (with Improvac) according to their reproductive cycle.

The effects of different immunocastration protocols on meat quality traits and boar taint compounds in male Bísaro pigs.

Immunocastration can be an alternative to surgical castration in Bísaro pigs when there is a need to keep animals on the farm until at least 8 months old. As an autochthonous breed, some particularities must be addressed when doing immunocastration, for which 3 different protocols were tested and two control groups were made with surgically castrated males (SC) and boars (Bo). Two protocols were made in prepubertal pigs, with two (E2) and three inoculations (L3) in the first cycle, and another in adults (A2) with only two inoculations.

Bacteriocin and Antioxidant Production, a Beneficial Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Fermented Vegetables of Northwest Bulgaria.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ST01BG, ST07BG, ST10BG, and ST15BG; Latilactobacillus curvatus ST02BG; Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ST04BG; Pediococcus pentosaceus ST05BG; Leuconostoc mesenteroides ST06BG; and Enterococcus faecium ST11BG were isolated from home-made fermented vegetables from Northwest Bulgaria and identified by biochemical, physiological, and biomolecular analyses, including partial 16S rRNA sequencing. The strains were designated as bacteriocin producers and the expressed antimicrobials partially characterized with a focus on their proteinaceous nature, stability to different pH and temperatures. The bacteriocins were effective in inhibiting different strains of Listeria spp.

Microbiological Characterization of Protected Designation of Origin Serra da Estrela Cheese.

Serra da Estrela is the oldest and most recognizable traditional protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese from Portugal. It has been extensively studied over the years, but the latest microbial characterization is 20 years old. Hence, this work aimed to perform an updated characterization of Serra da Estrela PDO cheeses and raw materials.

Plasmid-Associated Bacteriocin Produced by Pediococcus pentosaceus Isolated from Smoked Salmon: Partial Characterization and Some Aspects of his Mode of Action.

Strain ST3Ha, isolated from commercially available smoked salmon, was identified as Pediococcus pentosaceus based on biochemical and physiological tests and 16S rRNA sequencing. Strain ST3Ha produces a class IIa bacteriocin active against lactic acid bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecalis. The antimicrobial peptide was inactivated by proteolytic enzymes, confirming his proteinaceous nature, but was not affected when treated with α-amylase, SDS, Tween 20, Tween 80, urea, and EDTA.

Rice Bran Stabilisation and Oil Extraction Using the Microwave-Assisted Method and Its Effects on GABA and Gamma-Oryzanol Compounds.

Rice bran oil (RBO) is a valuable ingredient extracted from rice bran (RB), a side stream of polishing rice grain in the milling process. RBO is rich in bioactive ingredients with potential health benefits, such as gamma-oryzanol (GO) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Despite its benefits, the quality of RBO depends on the degree of stabilisation of the RB, which is easily affected by lipase enzymes, and thus needs an effective treatment prior to RBO production.

Serra da Estrela PDO Cheese Microbiome as Revealed by Next Generation Sequencing.

Serra da Estrela PDO cheese is the oldest traditional cheese manufactured in Portugal. In this work, its microbiome as well as the main raw materials used in cheese production, raw ewes' milk and thistle flowers ( L.), were characterized using next generation sequencing.

Evaluation of the microbiological safety and sensory quality of a sliced cured-smoked pork product with protective cultures addition and modified atmosphere packaging.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two protective lactic acid bacteria cultures combined with modified atmosphere packaging on the survival/growth of Listeria innocua 2030c (as a surrogate for Listeria monocytogenes) and on sensory attributes of ready-to-eat 'lombo' over storage time. Sliced 'lombo', a traditional cured-smoked pork loin, was inoculated with L. innocua 2030c, Lactobacillus sakei ST153 (isolated from 'salpicão') and BLC35 culture (with Lactobacillus curvatus, Staphylococcus xylosus and Pediococcus acidilactici; CHR Hansen) as protective cultures.

Enterococcus faecium isolated from Lombo, a Portuguese traditional meat product: characterisation of antibacterial compounds and factors affecting bacteriocin production.

Strain ST211CH, identified as a strain of Enterococcus faecium, isolated from Lombo produced a bacteriocin that inhibited the growth of Enterococcus spp., Listeria spp., Klebsiella spp.

Characterisation of an antiviral pediocin-like bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecium.

The bacteriocin-producing strain Enterococcus faecium ST5Ha was isolated from smoked salmon and identified by biomolecular techniques. Ent. faecium ST5Ha produces a pediocin-like bacteriocin with activity against several lactic acid bacteria, Listeria spp.

Characterization of bacteriocins produced by two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from Beloura and Chouriço, traditional pork products from Portugal.

Bacteriocins bacST202Ch and bacST216Ch, produced by Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from Beloura and Chouriço, respectively, inhibited the growth of a number of Gram-positive and Gram-negative meat spoilage bacteria. According to trycine-SDS-PAGE, bacST202Ch and bacST216Ch are approximately 3.5 and 10.

Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from production lines of fresh and cold-smoked fish.

Aims: The aims of this study were to characterize strains of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from cold-smoking fish plants to establish possible routes of contamination through the processing chain.

Methods And Results: Listeria monocytogenes from fresh fish suppliers, raw materials, factory sites and finished products isolated in Portugal (162 isolates) and England (28 isolates) were characterized by serotyping, phage typing, tetracycline, cadmium and arsenic resistance, and plasmid profiling. On the basis of serotyping and phage typing, the isolates were categorized into eight groups.

Evaluation of enhanced haemolysis agar for detection of Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes from production lines of fresh to cold-smoked fish.

Enhanced haemolysis agar (EHA) was compared to the two conventional Listeria isolation agars Oxford and PALCAM for its ability to detect Listeria spp. from production lines of fresh to cold-smoked fish. The ability of EHA for distinguishing L.

Efficiency of four secondary enrichment protocols in differentiation and isolation of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes from smoked fish processing chains.

Four secondary enrichment protocols (conventional methods: UVM II, Fraser 24 h and Fraser 48 h: Impedimetric method: Listeria electrical detection medium) were studied for their ability to isolate Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes from fish and environmental samples collected along the processing chain of cold-smoked fish. From all methods, Listeria spp.

Evaluation of mini-VIDAS rapid test for detection of Listeria monocytogenes from production lines of fresh to cold-smoked fish.

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the mini-VIDAS Listeria monocytogenes (LMO) system (BioMérieux Vitek, Inc., Missouri, USA) for detection of L. monocytogenes in environmental and fish samples from three Portuguese cold-smoking plants and from their fresh fish suppliers.