Safety and functional aspects of preselected enterococci for probiotic use in Iberian dry-fermented sausages

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate enterococci for potential probiotic use in Iberian dry-fermented sausages. A total of 15 strains isolated from Iberian dry-fermented sausages, human feces, and pigfeces were evaluated for their safety and functional characteristics including biogenic amine (BA) production, an-tibiotic susceptibility, hemolysis, virulence determinants, cell adhesion, and antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens. The strainEnterococcus faeciumSE906 was able to establish itself on the intestinal epithelium,inhibiting such pathogenic bacteria asListeria monocytogenes in vitro. This strain was also considered safe to beused for its low aminogenic potential, and its antibiotic resistance pattern and virulence determinants, being iden-tified as a potential probiotic meat starter culture suitable for manufacture of dry-fermented Iberian sausages