Antibacterial mechanism of sucrose laurate against Bacillus cereus by attacking multiple targets and its application in milk beverage

•SL is a promising dual-functional additive (emulsification, antibacterial activity).•Antibacterial mechanism was elucidated at the cellular and molecular levels.•Action mode was revealed from the aspect of metabolic pathways by proteomic analysis.•SL was evidenced to show promising applicational effect in milk beverage.•This investigation could provide scientific basis for the application of SL.