Mould spoilage is the main cause of substantial economic loss in bakery industry and might also cause public
health problems due to the production of mycotoxins. The reduction of mould growth in bakery products is thus
of crucial importance and there is great interest to develop safe and efficient strategies for this purpose. In this
study Lactobacillus amylovorus DSM19280 has been shownto produce a wide spectrumof antifungal compounds
active against common bread spoilage fungi. Among the indicator moulds, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium
culmorum were the most sensitive organisms. Several antifungal compounds were found to be present in
syntheticmediuminoculated with L.amylovorus DSM19280 strain, someof thembeing reported here for the first
time. Wheat doughs fermented with L. amylovorus DSM19280 had good rheological properties and the breads
thereof were of high quality as shown by rheofermentometer and texture analyser measurements. The results
were compared with those obtained with a control non-antifungal L. amylovorus DSM20531T strain, a nonacidified
and a chemically acidified dough. The quality of sourdough and bread fermented with L.amylovorus DSM
19280 was comparable to that obtained by using L. amylovorus DSM20531 T. Additionally, breads were evaluated
for the ability to retard the growth of FusariumculmorumFST 4.05, Aspergillus niger FST4.21, Penicilliumexpansum
FST 4.22, Penicilliumroqueforti FST 4.11 and fungal flora fromthe bakery environment. The biological preservation
of bread with L. amylovorus DSM19280 was also compared to themost commonly used antifungal agent Calcium
propionate. Breads containing sourdough fermented with L. amylovorus DSM 19280 were more effective in
extending the shelf life of bread than the calcium propionate.