## 3 Results  
Table 1 shows the isolated LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ strains from the oregano honeycombs. In total, 101 strains were isolated belonging to 16 species, a novel finding regarding the biodiversity of the natural microflora of the oregano honeycombs. The majority of these strains were _Lactobacillus_ (_n_ = 73, 72.27%), followed by _Bifidobacterium_ (_n_ = 12, 11.88%), _Lactococcus_ (_n_ = 8, 7.92%) and _Leuconostoc_ (_n_ = 8, 7.92%). For the purposes of the present study, 49 strains of LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ were selected and tested for their bacteriocin-producing capacity. The selected strains had a higher BioTyper score value (not including _L. insectis_) than the others and thus were considered the most typical of their species. Of these strains, 34 belonged to the _Lactobacillus_ genus, 6 to the _Lactococcus_ genus, 5 to the _Leuconostoc_ genus and 4 to the _Bifidobacterium_ genus. The 34 _Lactobacillus_ strains were classified into 12 genera as follows: three _L. insectis_ strains, two _L. kunkei_ strains, three _L. casei_ strains, three _L. fermentutun_ strains, two _L. curratus_ strains, three _L. paracasei_ subsp. _paracasei_ strains, two _L. plantarum_ strains, three _L. reuteri_ strains, three _L. sakei_ strains, two _L. salivarius_ strains, three _L. pentosus_ strains and five _L. kefri_ strains. The six _Lactococcus_ strains were classified into two species: three _L. lactis_ strains and three _L. lactis_ subsp. _cremoris_ strains. Table 2 shows the pathogen and spoilage bacteria isolated from the fruit and vegetable samples (_n_ = 311) purchased from local open markets and retail stores. It is obvious that apart from the spore formation of _C. perfringens_ (_n_ = 117, 37.62%), _Salmonella_ spp. is the most frequently isolated microorganism (_n_ = 27, 8.68%), its isolates originating from the RTU salad (12 strains out of 27, 44.44%), tomatoes (6 out of 27 strains), white cabbage (5 out of 27 strains) and apples (4 out of 27 strains). _L. monocytogenes_ (_n_ = 3), _Listeria_ spp. (_n_ = 10) and _E. coli_ (_n_ = 20) were also isolated. In general, inhibition zones from 0 to 18 mm were observed. All pathogens and spoilage bacteria (_n_ = 14) showed susceptibility to the bacteriocins produced by the LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ strains. However, the degree of this susceptibility varied significantly depending on the bacteriocin-like substances (BLS)-producing strain as well as the pathogen target cell (Table 3). In order to assess these discrepancies, the inhibition zones were classified into four classes: Class I, 0-10 mm, characterized a weak inhibitory result; Class II, 10.1-12 mm, characterized by a moderate inhibitory result; Class III, 12.1-14 mm, characterized by a moderate to strong inhibitory result; and Class IV, 14.1-18 mm, characterized by a strong inhibitory result. All LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ strains were classified with respect to the inhibition zone they produced under each of the three treatments and for each of the 14 pathogens and spoilage bacteria (Table 3). The difference in the distribution (frequencies) of the inhibitory result of the LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ strains was statistically assessed (chi-squared test, significance level of \(p<0.05\)). The CFS was left untreated or neutralized (pH = 6.0). In the case of neutralization, it was treated with catalase to eliminate hydrogen peroxide. For the sake of convenience, we named the three types of CFS as follows: (a) untreated CFS, (b) neutralized CFS and (c) neutralized CFS treated with a 1 mg mL\({}^{-1}\)concentration of catalase. In order to assess the effect of the different treatments (Treatments A-C) to the distribution of the inhibitory potency of the LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ strains, the comparison concerned the different categories/treatments (A-C) for every pathogen (same pathogen but different treatment). For example, in the case of _E. coli_ strain No.1 (Table 3), there is no significant difference in the distribution of the inhibitory potency of the LAB and _Bifidobacterium_ strain for the three treatments.