Phytic acid (PA), extracted from oilseeds, legumes, cereals, nuts, and pollen by acid solutions under heating and/or stirring and then purified, has shown beneficial health and physiological effects due to its pronounced antioxidant activity and ability to chelate Fe³⁺ ions. Publications on PA have increased, especially the ones reporting its effect on disease prevention and treatment. Moreover, recent studies have suggested the PA efficacy as a foodborne pathogens inhibitor. Therefore, due to its countless proven properties, phytic acid has gained greater attention than its common classification as just an antinutrient. Past and current studies have been reviewed to provide an overview on PA structure, sources, biosynthesis, extraction, purification, and applications. Graphical Abstract

The lactic acid bacteria are involved with food fermentation and in such cases with food spoilage. Considering the need to reduce the lactic acid bacteria growth in meat products, the aim of this work was to enumerated and investigated the lactic acid bacteria present on sliced vacuum-packed cooked ham stored at 4 °C and 8 °C for 45 days by phenotypic and molecular techniques. The quantification showed that the lactic acid bacteria were present from the first day with mean count of 1.98 log cfu/g for the four batches analyzed. The lactic acid bacteria grew rapidly on the samples, and plate counts around 7.59 log cfu/g and 8.25 log cfu/g were detected after 45 days of storage at 4 °C and 8 °C, respectively; storage temperatures studied showed significant influence on the microorganism in study growth. The predominant lactic acid bacteria associated with the spoilage samples at one day of storage includes Lactobacillus sp., the phenotypic overlap Leuconostoc/Weissella sp. and Enterococcus sp. At 45 days of storage at 4 and 8 °C the mainly specie was Lactobacillus curvatus, following by Lactobacillus sakei and Leuconostoc mesentereoides; the Enterococcus sp. was not present in the samples.