Lactic Acid Bacteria and Bifidobacteria for Mitigating Food-Safety Hazards: Mechanistic and Matrix-Level Evidence on Mycotoxins, Biogenic Amines, and AMR

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bifidobacteria are central to food fermentation and probiotic formulation, but their potential as targeted mitigation agents against specific food-safety hazards remains fragmented across the literature. Mycotoxin contamination in cereals, dairy, and fermented commodities; biogenic amine accumulation in fermented meats, fish, and beverages; and the spread of antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) determinants through food chains all pose distinct, regulated risks for which conventional control measures have limitations. LAB and bifidobacteria can address these hazards through mechanisms ranging from cell-wall binding and enzymatic detoxification to amine-oxidase activity, competitive exclusion, and absence or active loss of resistance markers. Yet studies are often confined to in-vitro screening on synthetic media, with weak translation to real food matrices and limited mechanistic resolution. There is a clear need to consolidate mechanistically grounded, matrix-validated evidence on these mitigation roles.This Research Topic aims to consolidate evidence on the use of LAB and bifidobacteria as targeted biocontrol agents against three specific classes of food-safety hazard: mycotoxins, biogenic amines, and antimicrobial-resistance determinants. It will bring together original research, reviews, and mini-reviews that combine strain-level characterization with mechanistic understanding of the mitigation process and validation in real food matrices. By requiring evidence at both the mechanism and the matrix level, the Topic will move the field beyond in-vitro screening and toward design-relevant knowledge for food producers and regulators. The Topic will clarify which strain–hazard–matrix combinations deliver measurable mitigation under realistic processing and storage conditions, expose mechanistic differences between species and strains, and surface knowledge gaps around safety assurance, genetic stability of mitigation traits, and absence of AMR transfer risk. Submissions on hazard mitigation in fermented and non-fermented matrices are welcome, provided that LAB or bifidobacteria are the active mitigation agent and that both mechanism and matrix-level evidence are reported.We welcome original research, reviews, and mini-reviews addressing:• LAB or Bifidobacterium-mediated binding, biotransformation, or degradation of mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisins, patulin) with mechanistic and matrix-level evidence.• Amine-oxidase activity and competitive exclusion strategies for biogenic amine control (histamine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine) in fermented and non-fermented matrices.• Strain-level characterization of LAB and bifidobacteria for absence of transferable AMR determinants, including genomic and phenotypic screening for biocontrol-suitable strains.• Mechanistic studies linking specific cell-wall components, enzymes, or genetic determinants to measurable hazard reduction.• Validation studies in real food matrices (dairy, cereals, meat, fish, fermented vegetables, beverages) with quantified hazard reduction under realistic processing and storage conditions.• Stability of mitigation traits across processing, storage, and gastrointestinal transit, and impact of matrix composition on mitigation efficacy.• Safety and regulatory considerations of biocontrol strains, including risk-assessment frameworks and absence of AMR transfer.Submissions reporting only in-vitro screening on synthetic media without matrix-level validation; studies on hazards other than mycotoxins, biogenic amines, or AMR determinants; probiotic or starter-culture studies without explicit hazard-mitigation endpoints; and characterization or process-optimization studies without mechanistic or matrix-level evidence fall outside the scope. Topic editors: Lucia Diez-Gutierrez, Carol VERHEECKE- VAESSEN, Awanwee Petchkongkaew Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86603/lactic-acid-bacteria-and-bifidobacteria-for-mitigating-food-safety-hazards-mechanistic-and-matrix-level-evidence-on-mycotoxins-biogenic-amines-and-amr