Inhibitory substances production by Lactobacillus plantarum ST16Pa cultured in hydrolyzed cheese whey supplemented with soybean flour and their antimicrobial efficiency as biopreservatives on fresh chicken meat

Abstract Cheese whey, the main byproduct of the dairy industry, is one of the most worrisome types of industrial waste, not only because of its abundant annual global production but also because it is a notable source of environmental pollution. However, cheese whey can serve as a raw material for the production of biocomposites. In this context, in this study, we assayed the production of a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) and lactate by culturing Lactobacillus plantarum ST16Pa in hydrolyzed fresh cheese whey. The process was improved by studying the enzymatic hydrolysis of cheese whey as well as its supplementation with soybean flour under microaerophilic or anaerobic conditions. Thus, the highest values of BLIS (7367.23 arbitrary units [AU]/mL) and lactate yield (Y lactate/lactose  = 1.39 g/g) were achieved after addition of 10 g/L soybean flour in microaerophilia. These conditions were successfully scaled up in a bioreactor because during complete anaerobiosis at 150 rpm, L . plantarum ST16Pa attained considerable cell growth (3.14 g/L), lactate concentration (14.33 g/L), and BLIS activity (8082.56 AU/mL). In addition, the cell-free supernatant resulting from this bioprocess showed high biopreservative efficiency in chicken breast fillets artificially contaminated with Enterococcus faecium 711 during 7 days of refrigerated storage, thus indicating the potential use of this BLIS as a biopreservative in the food industry.