Protective cultures
Protective cultures are bacteria especially selected and developed for their ability to control the growth of pathogenic and/or spoilage microorganisms in fermented foods.

The bacteria involved are mainly strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus sakei, Lactobacillus paracasei and Propionibacterium freundenreichii subsp. shermanii.

Danisco markets a range of protective cultures for dairy and meat applications under the trademark HOLDBAC™ whose primary functionalities are:

* growth control of Gram-positive pathogens such as Listeria
* growth control of spoilage microorganisms such as yeasts and moulds, heterofermentative lactic bacteria, enterococci

The key customer and end consumer benefits of using HOLDBAC™ protective cultures are:

* Listeria risk reduction and food safety improvement
* shelf life extension or maintenance by avoiding microbial organoleptic degradation

Additional specific customer benefits can be:

* reduction of supply chain and distribution costs
* replacement of chemical preservatives by a natural and safe solution
* allowing for new product formulation

Used alone or in association with ripening starters, protective cultures can also bring:

* texturising
* colouring
* flavouring

How to choose the right HOLDBAC™ protective culture?

Dairy applications

Functionality

HOLDBAC™ protective culture

Soft and smear cheese
Growth control of Listeria HOLDBAC™ Listeria dairy
Semi-hard and hard cheese Growth control of undesired bacteria such as Leuconostoc, enterococci and heterofermentative lactobacilli HOLDBAC™ LC
Fresh fermented dairy products (yoghurt, sour cream, quark, cottage cheese) Growth control of yeasts and moulds

HOLDBAC™ YM-B
HOLDBAC™ YM-C

Meat applications

Functionality

HOLDBAC™ Protective culture
Dry and semi-dry cured meats Growth control of Listeria HOLDBAC™ Listeria
Can be used as adjunct culture or combined with maturation starters
Cooked meats, fresh ground meats, etc. Growth control of Listeria HOLDBAC™ Listeria
Used as adjunct culture
Protective culture availability

Our protective cultures are available on dried powder or frozen pellets forms for direct inoculation.
Regulatory approval

Local regulations should always be consulted concerning the status of these products as legislation regarding their use in food may vary from country to country.

The strains used in HOLDBAC™ protective cultures have been selected for their technological qualities. They have a long history of safe use in food where they can be used as ingredients.

They are generally recognised as safe (GRAS) for use in dairy and meat products in the US

These strains have not been subjected to any genetic modification as defined in the European Directive 2001/18/EC.

Legal status varies from country to country. Local food regulations should always be consulted concerning the status of this product, as legislation regarding its use in food may vary from country to country.