Ascococcus mesenteroides Tsenkovskii 1878Betacoccus arabinosaceus Orla-Jensen 1919 Leuconostoc mesenteroides is a species of lactic acid bacteria associated with fermentation, under conditions of salinity and low temperatures (such as lactic acid production in fermented sausages).

[2] In some cases of vegetable and food storage, it was associated with pathogenicity (soft rot, slime and unpleasant odor).

It often forms lenticular coccoid cells in pairs and chains, however, it can occasionally form short rods with rounded ends in long chains, as its shape can differ depending on what media the species is grown on.

[3] L. mesenteroides is an obligate heterolactic fermentative lactic acid bacterium (LAB) that is mostly used in industrial dairy fermentation, playing various roles, such as production of dextran, gas, and flavor compounds.

[2] L. mesenteroides is a facultative anaerobe and will undergo heterolactic fermentation under microaerophilic conditions.

[2][3] L. mesenteroides is typically found on the skin of a large variety of fleshy fruits and vegetables,[3] and can be cultured using MRS agar, tomato juice agar, MRS broth, and skim milk.

This microbe is commonly used for souring vegetables like cucumbers and cabbage, producing fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles.

Specialized media is commonly used for industrial growth because components in standard medias like MRS contain meat extract and peptone that is not Kosher or halal which is needed for many dairy and vegetable products.

This is important as it has the ability to produce lactic acid which lowers the pH of the surrounding environment and, in turn, inhibits other competing food spoilage organism's growth as they cannot tolerate the acidic environment.

A more recent outbreak in a hospital in 2004 had 48 cases where it was found that penicillin and gentamicin could be used as antimicrobial treatment.