Abstract:Under environmental stress, some food-borne microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and others) can stay alive by entering a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. Microorganisms entering the VBNC state change in terms of cell morphology, metabolic activity, and pathogenicity, and cannot be detected by conventional methods, thus posing great challenges to food quality and safety. In this study, the development trends of foodborne microorganisms in the VBNC state were summarized and the various environmental induction factors, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and recovery conditions were briefly introduced. The molecular detection technology and phage detection methods that are applied to food-borne microorganisms at VBNC state were mainly discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods and possible optimization protocol were examined. In addition, the detection and separation methods for microorganisms at VBNC state were summarized and the feasibility of these methods was analyzed. The purpose of this paper was to provide a reference for the further investigations of the physiological characteristics of foodborne microorganisms at VBNC state, and the development of faster, simpler, and more efficient detection methods.
