Zygosaccharomyces rouxii: Control Strategies and Applications in Food and Winemaking

• Main Authors: Carlos Escott, Juan Manuel del Fresno, Iris Loira, Antonio Morata, José Antonio Suárez-Lepe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-08-01
• Series: Fermentation
• Subjects: wine; Zygosaccharomyces rouxii; re-fermentation; spoilage-control; non-Saccharomyces; high-ethanol
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/4/3/69

The genus Zygosaccharomyces is generally associated to wine spoilage in the winemaking industry, since a contamination with strains of this species may produce re-fermentation and CO2 production in sweet wines. At the same time, this capacity might be useful for sparkling wines production, since this species may grow under restrictive conditions, such as high ethanol, low oxygen, and harsh osmotic conditions. The spoilage activity of this genus is also found in fruit juices, soft drinks, salad dressings, and other food products, producing besides package expansion due to gas production, non-desired compounds such as ethanol and esters. Despite these drawbacks, Zygosaccharomyces spp. produces high ethanol and acetoin content in wines and may play an important role as non-Saccharomyces yeasts in differentiated wine products. Control strategies, such as the use of antimicrobial peptides like Lactoferricin B (Lfcin B), the use of dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) or non-thermal sterilization techniques may control this spoilage genus in the food industry.