Novel applications of Lactobacillus in the food industry

The continuous growing interest of consumers in sustainable, natural, and safe products, together with the problems associated with the use of chemical pesticides and food preservatives, makes it necessary to search for new approaches. Food industries have widely used lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as a natural source due to their ability to produce antibacterial/antifungal substances capable of effective biocontrol. Lactobacilli have the futuristic potential for utilization in a diversity of industrial applications and hence can be considered a significant candidate. This paper highlights and emphasizes the commercial applications of Lactobacilli in food, feed, wine, and agriculture, providing a snapshot of the contribution of biocontrol agents as a suitable alternative in the food industry. Furthermore, several raw materials such as cereals, fruits, and vegetables have recently been investigated in this paper to determine their suitability for designing valuable products. The novelty brought by this review is the presentation not only of the summarized results and diverse applications of the Lactobacillus genus, new bioprocess technology, but also an expanded view of the new patents, creating a valid database in the future for scientific researchers and the food industry, evidencing the interest in this area.