Synergistic Effects of Bacteriocin-Producing Pediococcus acidilactici K10 and Organic Acids on Inhibiting Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Applications in Ground Beef

When used in combination with organic acids, Pediococcus acidilactici K10 or its bacteriocin was effective in inhibiting Escherichia coli O157:H7 in vitro and in situ. P. acidilactici K10, a strain of bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB), was previously isolated from kimchi in our laboratory, and the molecular weight of its bacteriocin was estimated to be around 4,500 Da by SDS-PAGE. Initially, P. acidilactici K10 and its bacteriocin could not inhibit E. coli O157:H7, when used alone. However, when they were used together with organic acids such as acetic, lactic, and succinic acids, they greatly inhibited E. coli O157:H7 in vitro. Based on these in vitro results, a real sample test with ground beef was conducted at $4^{\circ}C$ with acetic acid (0.25%) or lactic acid (0.35%) alone, and then in combination with P. acidilactici K10 (10^5 CFU/g of sample). Combined treatment of P. acidilactici K10 with lactic acid showed the most inhibitory effect: a 2.8-$log_{10}$-unit reduction of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef during storage at $4^{\circ}C$. This result suggests that the combination of bacteriocin-producing P. acidilactici K10 and organic acids has great potential as a food biopreservative by inhibiting the growth of E. coli O157:H7.