The Role of Probiotics in Improving Food Safety: Inactivation of Pathogens and Biological Toxins

Abstract

Various studies have shown that different types of probiotics as healthy gut microbes, in addition to having beneficial effects on the host’s health, have an excellent ability to eliminate and neutralize chemical toxins and unwanted substances in foods, and ultimately, they can increase food safety. The purpose of the present review was to comprehensively discuss the role of probiotics in improving food safety in terms of adsorption/detoxification of heavy metals, pesticides, anti-parasitic drug residues, antibiotic residues, oxidants, and synthetic/unauthorized food additives (e.g. nitrite and nitrate, acrylamide, heterocyclic amines, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acetamide, and oxalate) in the food products. Some recent examples in terms of the role of probiotics in neutralizing chemical agents in the body after consuming contaminated food have also been mentioned. This review shows that probiotics have the potential to inactivate and detoxify various biological and synthetic chemical compounds in foods and the host body after consumption.