Our results show that LAB strains from foods can be
excellent candidates to form protective biofilms, in accordance
with the hypothesis proposed by Falagas and Makris (2009)
to use non-pathogenic microorganisms, namely probiotics,
as part of daily cleaning products to lower the incidence
of pathogenic microorganisms. Evidences on the efficacy of
probiotics for the prevention and treatment of infections have
been observed both in vitro and in vivo (Levkovich et al.,
2013; Shu et al., 2013). The present study provided new
information about the use of potential probiotic LAB biofilms
for the control of Listeria monocytogenes, S. Typhimurium
and E. coli O157:H7 biofilms formation through exclusion
mechanisms. However, more experiments are needed to confirm
the ability of these strains to inhibit the pathogen biofilm
formation in other environments. Our initial studies are very
encouraging and indicate that the LAB that we have tested are
promising candidates for controlling the presence of pathogenic
biofilms in food-processing facilities. The development of
protective biofilms with probiotic LAB present in food could
help avoiding problems of contamination into the food
chain.