Leveraging its natural, safe, and highly effective properties, nisin has been widely applied across numerous sectors of the food industry. Its applications encompass meat products, dairy products, seafood, beverages and fruit juices, liquid eggs and egg products, seasonings, brewing processes, baked goods, and convenience foods.

In the meat products sector, nisin effectively inhibits the growth and reproduction of Gram-positive bacteria responsible for meat spoilage, demonstrating particularly potent inhibitory effects against Clostridium and Bacillus that survive low-temperature sterilization. This not only addresses the challenge of short-time low-temperature sterilization of meat products but also fundamentally improves product texture.

In the dairy sector, the application of nisin has yielded particularly remarkable results. For example, in yogurt at approximately pH 4, the addition of 0.05 g/kg of nisin, followed by sterilization at 90°C for 20 minutes, extends the product's shelf life from 6 days at room temperature to over one month. In fresh milk, the addition of 0.03–0.05 g/kg of nisin effectively inhibits the germination and proliferation of Bacillus and Clostridium spores.

Furthermore, nisin can enhance bacterial sensitivity to heat, thereby reducing sterilization temperatures in food processing. This property helps shorten sterilization time and lower thermal processing temperatures, preserving food safety while minimizing nutrient loss and better maintaining the original color, flavor, and taste of food products. Amid the growing consumer preference for "clean label" and natural foods, nisin is emerging as an ideal alternative to synthetic chemical preservatives.

References

(1) Xia Y T, Zhu K M. Characteristics of Nisin and its application in meat products. Department of Food Science and Engineering, Nanchang University.

(2) ChemicalBook. Natural preservative — Nisin (2022)

(3) Food Encyclopedia. Research and application of microbial preservative Nisin

(4) Lv S X et al. Study on antibacterial function and mechanism of Nisin[J]. China Brewing, 2008(5): 87-91.