Abstract Description

Food spoilage is natural process, and many factors affects it this includes light, air, physical damage, insects, time, temperature and microorganisms. Of particular importance is food spoilage is by microorganisms because once food is spoiled by microorganisms the food cannot be reused or repurposed. The food spoilage microorganism’s ability to form biofilms are problematic in food processing environments as they are not easily removed and contribute to the spread and persistence of food spoilage organisms. Hence this negatively impacts environmental and economic sustainability of food processing. Chryseobacterium is known to exhibit food spoilage characteristics and are frequently isolated from a diverse range of environments. However, its ability to interact with other microorganisms to cause food spoilage is not well understood. This study aims to compare the volatile organic compounds (VOC) and biofilm production of Chryseobacterium in monocultures as well as in synthetic co cultures. Headspace solid phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME GCMS) was used to identify the volatiles produced from a skim milk media fermentation innoculated with monocultures and different mixtures of chryseobacterium, Pantoea, Paenibacillus and lactococcus. Biofilm production assays of both mono and co-cultures were conducted in 96 well plates in different substrates. Mixed cultures containing Chryseobacterium with Pantoea display VOC patterns different to that of mono- cultures indicating that the organisms promote each other’s growth to cause spoilage. Biofilm production shows that there is an increase in mixed cultures of Chryseobacterium lactis and Chryseobacterium pennipulorum as compared to monocultures indicating an interaction that promotes biofilm production. This study helps to characterize the VOC production of Chryseobacterium in food spoilage in mixed cultures as well as its biofilm production.