Probiotics in Meat Industry

Meat is a highly nutritious food consumed by humans since ancient ages. Starting from slaughtering of the meat-producing animals to processing it, the meat remains highly susceptible to environmental and microbial contamination. Methods used to preserve meat include drying, chilling at low temperature, freeze-drying, curing, irradiation, chemical and thermal processing, and fermentation with the help of microorganisms. Microorganisms, also referred to as meat starters, possess necessary properties such as production of health-promoting metabolites, antimicrobial peptides, and bacteriocins, inhibition of pathogens, removal or detoxification of xenobiotics, and reduction of toxic biogenic amines. In addition, fermented meat products have more shelf life and serve as sources of probiotics and probiotic metabolites.