Current Trends of Enterococci in Dairy Products: A Comprehensive Review of Their Multiple Roles

Dapkevicius, Maria de Lurdes Enes; Sgardioli, Bruna F.; Câmara, Sandra; Poeta, Patrícia; Malcata, F. Xavier

doi:10.3390/foods10040821

Cited by 77 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 288 publications

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“…The seven antibiotics tested and their concentrations were chosen according to the indications provided by the FEEDAP EFSA, CLSI, and NARMS [ 13 , 19 , 20 ] for E. faecium , a NSLAB species commonly found in ewe milk and cheese, with the highest cut-off among the microbial groups present in the cultures. Furthermore, it is considered a potential foodborne pathogen and shows a higher level of resistance compared to the other microbial species commonly found in dairy microbial consortia [ 42 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and Safety Assessment of Half-Century Preserved Natural Starter Cultures for Pecorino Romano PDO Cheese

et al. 2021

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The use of biodiverse autochthonous natural starter cultures to produce typical and PDO cheeses contributes to establishing a link between products and territory of production, which commercial starters, constituted by few species and strains, are not able to. The purpose of this work was the assessment of biodiversity, at strain level, and safety of natural scotta-innesto cultures whose use is mandatory for the Pecorino Romano PDO cheese manufacturing, according to its product specification. The biodiversity of three scotta-innesto, collected in the 1960s and preserved in lyophilised form, was assessed by molecular biotyping using both PFGE and (GTG)5 rep-PCR profiling on 209 isolates belonging to Streptococcus thermophilus (30), Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis (72), Enterococcus faecium (87), and Limosilactobacillus reuteri (20), revealing high biodiversity, at the strain level, in the cultures. The cultures’ safety was proved through a new approach assessing phenotypic and molecular antibiotic resistance of the cultures in toto, instead of single strains, while the safety of Enterococcus faecium isolates was investigated according to EFSA guidelines. The use of natural biodiverse cultures for the production of microbial starters for typical and PDO cheeses, such as Pecorino Romano, could be an opportunity for recovering the cheese microbiota biodiversity lost during years of commercial starters use.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and Safety Assessment of Half-Century Preserved Natural Starter Cultures for Pecorino Romano PDO Cheese

et al. 2021

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“…They also have capacity to share antibiotic resistance and other determinants. Enterococci of both clinical and food origin possess genomes of high plasticity due to abundance of pheromone-responsive and broad host range plasmids, enabling them to colonize a wide range of niches and habitats and thereby both acquire and spread genetic traits, including resistance and virulence genes [25,26]. Acquisition and spread of antibiotic resistance in enterococci can be mediated via mobile genetic elements such as resistance plasmids, transposons and integrative conjugative elements [27,28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sampling survey of enterococci within pasteurized, fermented dairy products and their virulence and antibiotic resistance properties

Mariam

2021

PLoS ONE

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Globally, fermented foods (FFs), which may be traditional or industrially-produced, are major sources of nutrition. In the traditional practice, the fermentation process is driven by communities of virtually uncharacterized microflora indigenous to the food substrate. Some of these flora can have virulent or antibiotic resistance properties, posing risk to consumers. Others, such as Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, may also be found in such foods. Enterococci that harbor antibiotic resistance or virulence factors can cycle among animals, food, humans and the environment, thereby transferring these harmful properties at the gene level to harmless commensals in the food matrix, animals and humans. In this work, several microbial isolates obtained from different FF sources were analyzed for their identity and virulence and/or antibiotic resistance properties. For identification aiming at enterococci, isolates that were Gram-positive and catalase- and oxidase-negative were subjected to multiple tests including for growth in broth containing 6.5% NaCl, growth and hydrolytic activity on medium containing bile-esculin, hemolytic activity on blood agar, and growth at 45°C and survival after incubation at 60°C for 30 min. Furthermore, the isolates were tested for susceptibility/resistance to a select group of antibiotics. Finally, the isolates were molecularly-characterized with respect to species identity and presence of virulence-encoding genes by amplification of target genes. Most sources contained enterococci, in addition to most of them also containing Gram-negative flora. Most of these also harbored virulence factors. Several isolates were also antibiotic-resistant. These results strongly suggest attention should be given to better control presence of such potentially pathogenic species.

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“…Enterococci are gram-positive bacteria and may fit within the general definition of lactic acid bacteria. With regard to safety and according to the Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) list from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/qps, Enterococcus species are neither recommended for the QPS list [1] nor have GRAS status [2], in spite of recent scientific knowledge allowing differentiation of commensal from pathogenic strains [3][4][5]. Modern classification techniques resulted, back in 1980s, in the transfer of some members of the genus Streptococcus, notably some of the Lancefield's group D streptococci, to the new genus Enterococcus [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Enterococci can be used as indicators of fecal contamination and have been implicated in outbreaks of foodborne illness. On the other hand, they have been ascribed a beneficial or detrimental role in foods [3][4][5]. In processed meats, enterococci may survive heat processing and cause spoilage, though in certain cheeses the growth of enterococci contributes to ripening and development of product flavor [3,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, they have been ascribed a beneficial or detrimental role in foods [3][4][5]. In processed meats, enterococci may survive heat processing and cause spoilage, though in certain cheeses the growth of enterococci contributes to ripening and development of product flavor [3,7]. Some enterococci of food origin produce bacteriocins that exert anti-Listeria activity [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enterococci in Farm-Manufactured Pecorino and Goat Cheese

Cenci‐Goga¹,

Karama²,

El‐Ashram³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Enterococci are enteric organisms which are commonly isolated from ewe and goat's milk production in Umbria, Italy. For years enterococci have been considered as microorganisms only indicative of inadequate hygienic practices or exposure of the food to conditions that would permit multiplication of other undesirable bacteria. However, enterococci largely occur in many cheeses, and are now considered to be usual components of their typical microflora. They play a major role in cheese ripening due to lipolytic, proteolytic and caseinolytic activities. Enterococci have been also shown to be involved in food poisoning outbreaks although only E. faecalis has been demonstrated to cause changes in dairy products, thus being the only species of concern in dairy production. The aim of this study was to was to investigate the evolution of enterococci during the production and ripening of Pecorino cheese made with two different cheesemaking processes and characterize Enterococcus spp. isolates all along the cheesemaking and ripening process.

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Current Trends of Enterococci in Dairy Products: A Comprehensive Review of Their Multiple Roles

Cited by 77 publications

References 288 publications

Biodiversity and Safety Assessment of Half-Century Preserved Natural Starter Cultures for Pecorino Romano PDO Cheese

Biodiversity and Safety Assessment of Half-Century Preserved Natural Starter Cultures for Pecorino Romano PDO Cheese

A sampling survey of enterococci within pasteurized, fermented dairy products and their virulence and antibiotic resistance properties

Enterococci in Farm-Manufactured Pecorino and Goat Cheese

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