Correlation Between food Processing-Associated Stress Tolerance and Antimicrobial Resistance in Food Pathogens

Abstract

Recently, consumer demand for safe but minimally processed food has rapidly increased. For this reason, many food processing industries are applying hurdle technology to enhance food safety, extend shelf life, and make foods appear minimally processed. Meanwhile, studies have shown that a treatment (stress) meant to inactivate foodborne pathogens may trigger adaptation mechanisms and could even offer cross protection against subsequent treatments. Also, certain routine farm practices such as antibiotic and herbicide use could result in the development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Such bacteria may be tolerant to food processing-associated stress and be more likely to remain viable in processed foods. In this review, we discuss the correlation between food processing-associated stress and antibiotic resistance. We also discuss molecular mechanisms such as the use of sigma factors, SOS response pathways and efflux pumps as means of cross protection against antimicrobial compounds and other food processingassociated stresses.