Robustness of a spontaneous artisanal carrot juice fermentation process against three common food pathogens

Spontaneous artisan vegetable fermentations are regaining popularity in industrialized countries, but they could be prone to contamination with foodborne pathogens. By simulating home or small scale restaurant fermentations, we evaluated the microbiological safety of spontaneous carrot juice fermentations. Fresh carrot juice was spiked with Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7, and the microbial dynamics were followed throughout the entire fermentation process by cultivation and amplicon sequencing. In addition, the behavior of these pathogens was also monitored after addition of fresh cucumber juice and storage under refrigerated conditions to mimic post-contamination issues.