Potential Risks and Challenges of Bacterial Persistence in Food Safety

Bacterial persisters are becoming increasingly recognized as an emerging public health concern due to the potential causes of chronic infections in clinical settings and treatment failures in the food industry. The persisters are transiently tolerant to antibiotics and environmental stresses. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying persister formation in foodborne pathogens is essential for assessing the safety risks in food environments. The molecular mechanisms associated with the bacterial tolerance and persistence can be new targets for controlling antibiotic-resistant foodborne pathogens. In addition, the reversible phenotypic switch and non-heritable characteristics can be used to re-sensitize persister cells to antibiotics and then directly inhibit dormant cells. However, because there has still been insufficient information on the bacterial persistence, we have faced a significant challenge in the development of effective anti-persister agents. Therefore, the aims of this review are to examine the mechanisms underlying the development of bacterial persistence, the significance of persister cells in association with antibiotic resistance, discuss the food safety concerns with persister cells, and provide new insight for controlling persister cells in food products.