Abstract: In order to reduce the incidence of foodborne disease which constitutes a major public health problem, we are focussing our attention on the exploitation of indigenous food grade lactic acid bacteria to improve the safety and hygiene of fermented products. In this study we isolated lactobacilli from four fermented dairy products and screened them for the production of antimicrobial substances by eliminating the effects of organic acids and hydrogen peroxide. Three foodborne bacterial pathogens, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes were used as indicators. Of the twelve Lactobacillus isolates obtained, six showed antagonistic effects against at least one of the pathogens. Three of the twelve isolates (one with detectable antimicrobial activity and two without) were found to harbour plasmids. Plasmid elimination by curing with ethidium bromide revealed no association between the antimicrobial activity and the plasmids. With these results it may be assumed that the antimicrobial effects of these isolates on the pathogens investigated were determined by their chromosomes. In conclusion we have identified indigenous strains of food grade lactobacilli with antimicrobial activity against clinically important bacterial enteropathogens.