Ensuring food quality and safety will remain a major challenge for the agri-food sector, due in large part to expected limits on the use of conventional microbiological barriers. There is an urgent need to develop new antimicrobial agents that are effective throughout the food manufacturing and distribution chain. The use of lactic acid bacteria and metabolites thereof to increase product shelf life has attracted much interest during recent years. Their potential as preservatives in many food matrices appears to be huge. However, the number of agents approved by regulatory agencies and available for widespread commercial use remains small. In this paper we review the recent literature on the potential of lactic acid bacteria as bioprotective culture in foods and summarize their mechanisms of antimicrobial action, recent applications and potential advantages and limitations in the suppression of spoilage organisms and foodborne pathogens. We also examine various aspects of obtaining regulatory approval for the use of lactic acid bacteria as new food additives.