Abstract
Meat consumption is of great economical importance. Several lactic acid bacteria associated with meat products are important natural bacteriocin producers. Bacteriocins are proteinaceous antag onistic substances considered to be important in the control of spoilage and pathogenic microor ganisms. This review aims to present the current state of the art in terms of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria associated with fresh and fermented meat products, describe the biochemical and genetic characteristics of their bacteriocins and the potential use of bacteriocins production of meat products.