Aerococcus sp., a promising genus as a source of anti-Salmonella bioprotective agents for the dairy industry revealed by a miniaturised screening method

Biopreservation is a promising technology for insuring safety of food. This study evaluated the anti-Salmonella potential of 1450 dairy isolates from 54 genera, in conditions mimicking dairy matrices, to find new bioprotective strains. Among the screened isolates, 6.4% exhibited an antagonistic activity towards at least one of the two Salmonella Mbandaka and Montevideo reference strains. Lactococcus sp. generated the highest number of bioprotective candidates, followed by Aerococcus sp. from which seven isolates were able to inhibit at least 80% of 20 Salmonella strains in milk medium and/or cheese medium. Inhibition by Aerococcus sp. was characterised by the production of hydrogen peroxide (30–100 mg L−1) and acetic acid (0.23–0.34 g L−1). Aerococcus sp. appears to be a new promising source of bioprotective agents against Salmonella in dairy matrices, along with the well-described Lactococcus genus.