Assessment of the safety and applications of bacteriocinogenic Enterococcus faecium Y31 as an adjunct culture in North-eastern Chinese traditional fermentation paocai

•Class IIa bacteriocin-producing Enterococcus faecium Y31 is safe for use in food.•Bacteriocinogenic E. faecium Y31 is an adequate adjunct culture in the NCTFP.•E. faecium Y31 enhances the fermentation speed of the NCTFP.•E. faecium Y31 enhances both the hygienic and sensory attributes of the NCTFP.•The use of E. faecium Y31 in the NCTFP solves some current industrial problems of the NCTFP.

Enterococcus faecium Y31 is a class IIa bacteriocin producer found in traditional Chinese fermented foods. The bacteriocin produced by Y31 (bacteriocin Y31) has a broad inhibitory spectrum. Here, we investigated the safety and behaviours of E. faecium Y31 in North-eastern Chinese traditional fermentation paocai (NCTFP) to assess its suitability as an adjunct culture. E. faecium Y31 showed interesting features, such as the absence of virulence determinants (aggregation substance [agg], enterococcal surface protein [esp], endocarditis antigen [efaAfm], gelatinase [gelE], hemolysin [cylA, cylB, cylM], sex pheromone [cpd, cob, ccf], adhesion of collagen [ace], and hyaluronidase [hyl] genes), sensitivity to various antibiotics, lack of haemolytic compounds, and lack of biogenic amine production. E. faecium Y31 could propagate in raw Chinese cabbage and produce bacteriocin Y31. To evaluate its performance as an adjunct culture for NCTFP, changes in the overall quality of control (noninoculated) and experimental NCTFP (inoculated with E. faecium Y31 under previously optimised fermentation conditions) were determined in duplicate fermentations of Chinese cabbage using chemical, microbiological, texture, and sensory evaluations. In the presence of E. faecium Y31, faster fermentation and higher bacteriocin Y31 production were observed than in the control. Additionally, the nitrite concentration of the fermentation solution decreased more rapidly, the total viability of the culture increased, and the lactic acid bacterium population was higher than those in NCTFP produced by spontaneous fermentation. No yeasts and moulds were detected in NCTFP produced by inoculation fermentation or spontaneous fermentation, and the textural properties of these two products were similar. Sensory evaluation results for NCTFP produced by inoculation fermentation were superior to those produced by spontaneous fermentation. Therefore, E. faecium Y31 was sufficient as an adjunct culture to enhance both the hygienic and sensory attributes of NCTFP and its use may help to address the issues inherent in commercial production of NCTFP.