The industry of minimally processed vegetables (MPV) is constantly searching new technologies for
maintaining quality and for inhibiting undesired microbial growth in all steps of production and distribution
chain. Among the proposed new technologies, biopreservation, such as bacteriocin-based strategy,
is recently considered as a promising perspective in order to reduce the application of chemical preservatives.
In the present study the effect of the bacteriocin RUC9 produced by a wild strain of Lactococcus
lactis was tested in minimally processed lettuce iceberg samples artificially inoculated with a wild strain
of Listeria monocytogenes during storage at 4 C and compared to that of commercial nisin. Moreover the
microbial group dynamics were evaluated by conventional and molecular approaches. Although the
treatment did not completely eliminate the pathogen on the produce, the results showed that the bacteriocin
reduced the L. monocytogenes viable count of 2.7 log unit in 7 days of storage at 4 C, suggesting
that the treatment can be used as sanitizer to improve microbial safety and to reduce the chemical treatment
in MPV processing.