Introduction. Functional food refers to a category of food products that, beyond their nutritional value, have a proven beneficial effect on one or more functions of the human body. Fermented products such as yogurt, kefir or pickled vegetables play a special role in this regard, known for their impact on regulating gut microbiota balance, supporting the immune system and providing bioactive compounds and peptides with antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In recent years, there has been growing interest in fermented beverages as a healthier alternative to commercial fizzy drinks. An example of such a beverage is pine needle soda – a fermented drink made from pine needles. In response to the increasing demand for unprocessed and functional food, the aim of this study was to develop a fermented pine needle beverage and its variants enriched with turmeric, the probiotic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus Narine, or their combination, followed by the evaluation of their antimicrobial activity against selected foodborne pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes 1326, Listeria monocytogenes 1327 and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotyp Typhimurium PCM 2266).
Results and conclusions. The study showed that cell-free supernatants from fermented pine-based beverages exhibit variable inhibitory effects on pathogen growth, primarily dependent on pH values. Lower pH enhanced the antimicrobial activity, indicating the predominant role of organic acids in the inhibition mechanism. The addition of functional ingredients: turmeric and  probiotic strain L. acidophilus Narine influenced the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values in different ways – both decreasing and increasing MIC depending on the composition. The  L. acidophilus Narine supernatant demonstrated the highest antimicrobial efficacy when used as a separate component.