Quorum quenching as an emerging management tool for food contamination control

The overuse of antibiotics and synthetic preservatives in conventional food preservation has led to growing concerns regarding microbial resistance and ecological impact. In response, quorum quenching (QQ) has emerged as a promising alternative that disrupts bacterial communication pathways without exerting lethal pressure, thereby mitigating the development of resistance. This review systematically examines the regulatory architectures of quorum sensing (QS) systems in major foodborne pathogens, emphasizing their roles in biofilm formation and virulence expression. It further elaborates the molecular mechanisms of QQ, which primarily involve inhibiting signal synthesis, enzymatically degrading signal molecules, and competitively blocking receptor binding. With demonstrated applications across environmental, agricultural, food, and medical sectors, QQ shows significant potential for reducing foodborne diseases and improving public health. However, challenges remain in the cost-effective production, regulatory approval, and compatibility of QQ agents within complex food matrices. Future integration with intelligent packaging and AI-driven delivery systems may enable real-time monitoring and responsive biocontrol. This work provides a cross-disciplinary assessment of QQ's implementation pathways, bridging fundamental mechanisms to practical applications in agri-food systems.