1. Introduction
The stability and safety of food products involves the creation of
a hostile environment for undesirable pathogenic and spoilage
microorganisms but at the same time capable of supporting the
growth and metabolic activities of the useful ones. Despite the food
industry increasingly tends to produce food with high organoleptic
standards, with a long shelf life and with suitable nutritional values,
there is a general and increased tendency of consumer to prefer
foods that have undergone less drastic technological treatments,
prepared with few or even no chemical additives and with low
content of acids, sugars, salts and fats. Paradoxically, this demand
for more “natural and health food” can have important implications