You have probably heard of the human gut microbiome and its importance to our health. But what about the microbiome of foods? Similar to the gut microbiome, foods have a diverse community of indigenous or native microbes that reside on a food product that are acquired from its environment during harvest, processing, and storage.  

This community can be made up of both "good" and "bad" bacteria. "Good" bacteria like lactic acid bacteria (LAB) could potentially provide benefits to the microbial safety of the food. "Bad" bacteria, like pathogenic organisms such as Listeria monocytogenes or Escherichia coli, can be detrimental to human health. The food microbiome is dynamic, influenced by changes in temperature, salinity, pH, oxygen, and exposure to other organisms, resulting in shifts in the bacterial population proportions. These dynamics can be further influenced by adding new bacteria—or bacteria already present in greater proportions—to help influence and improve food safety and quality.