Agradecimentos: The authors show their gratitude to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Grant #302763/2014-7; #306644/2021-5) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) (Finance Code 001) and Casadinho/PROCAD Project (MCT/CNPq/MEC/Capes: 552440-2011-6) for the financial support of projects undertaken at Laboratory of Quantitative Food Microbiology, University of Campinas. The authors also would like to acknowledge the COST Action 18101 SOURDOMICS – Sourdough biotechnology network towards novel, healthier and sustainable food and bioprocesses (https://sourdomics.com/; https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA18101/, accessed on 25th August 2023), and is supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) (https://www.cost.eu/, accessed on 25th August 2023). COST is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Author JMR also acknowledges the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF – Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina – Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Porto, Portugal, as well as the support made by LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE) and UIDB/00511/2020-UIDP/00511/2020 (LEPABE) funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) Ver menos

Abstract: Fungi are the main microorganisms responsible for the spoilage of bakery products, and their control and subsequent reduction of food waste are significant concerns in the agri-food industry. Synthetic preservatives are still the most used compounds to reduce bakery product spoilage. On the other hand, studies have shown that biopreservation can be an attractive approach to overcoming food and feed spoilage and increasing their shelf-life. However, limited studies show the preservation effects on real food matrices. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts on the growth of spoilage filamentous fungi (molds) on bread and panettones. In general, on conventional and multigrain bread, treatments containing Limosilactobacillus fermentum IAL 4541 and Wickerhamomyces anomalus IAL 4533 showed similar results when compared to the negative control (calcium propionate) in delaying the fungal growth of the tested species (Aspergillus chevalieri, Aspergillus montevidensis, and Penicillium roqueforti). Different from bread, treatments with W. anomallus in panettones delayed the A. chevalieri growth up to 30 days, 13 days longer than observed on negative control (without preservatives). This study showed that biopreservation is a promising method that can extend bakery products' shelf-life and be used as an alternative to synthetic preservatives Ver menos