Fermented Foods
By
Dr Siti Noor Suzila Maqsood ul Haque
Fermented Foods
• Foods that have been subjected to the action of micro-
organisms or enzymes, in order to bring about a
desirable change.
• Numerous food products owe their production and
characteristics to the fermentative activities of
microorganisms.
• Fermented foods originated many thousands of years
ago when presumably micro-organism contaminated
local foods.
Fermented Foods
• Micro-organisms cause changes in the foods which:
– Help to preserve the food,
– Extend shelf-life considerably over that of the
raw materials from which they are made,
– Improve aroma and flavour characteristics,
– Increase its vitamin content or its digestibility
compared to the raw materials.
Table 1 History and origins of some fermented foods
Food Approximate year Region
of introduction
Mushrooms 4000 BC China
Soy sauce 3000 BC China, Korea, Japan
Wine 3000 BC North Africa, Europe
Fermented milk 3000 BC Middle East
Cheese 2000 BC Middle East
Beer 2000 BC North Africa, China
Bread 1500 BC Egypt, Europe
Fermented Meats 1500 BC Middle East
Sourdough bread 1000 BC Europe
Fish sauce 1000 BC Southeast Asia, North Africa
Pickled vegetables 1000 BC China, Europe
Tea 200 BC China
Fermented Foods
• The term “biological ennoblement” has
been used to describe the nutritional
benefits of fermented foods.
• Fermented foods comprise about one-
third of the world wide consumption of
food and 20- 40 % (by weight) of
individual diets.
Table 2 Worldwide production of some fermented foods
Food Quantity (t) Beverage Quantity (hl)
Cheese 15 million Beer 1000 million
Yoghurt 3 million Wine 350 million
Mushrooms 1.5 million
Fish sauce 300 000
Dried stockfish 250 000
Table 3 Individual consumption of some fermented
foods: average per person per year
Annual
Food Country
consumption
Beer (I) Germany 130
Wine (I) Italy, Portugal 90
Argentina 70
Yoghurt (I) Finland 40
Netherlands 25
Kimchi (kg) Korea 22
Tempeh (kg) Indonesia 18
Soy sauce (I) Japan 10
Cheese (kg) UK 10
Miso (kg) Japan 7
Table 4 Benefits of fermentation
Raw Fermented
Benefit
material food
Preservation Milk Yoghurt, cheese
(Most materials)
Enhancement of safety
Acid production Fruit Vinegar
Acid and alcohol production Barley Beer
Grapes Wine
Production of bacteriocins Meat Salami
Removal of toxic components Cassava Gari, polviho azedo
Soybean Soy sauce
Enhancement of nutritional value
Improved digestibility Wheat Bread
Retention of micronutrients Leafy veges. Kimchi, sauerkraut
Increased fibre content Coconut Nata de coco
Synthesis of probiotic compounds Milk Bifidus milk, Yakult,
Acidophilus yoghurt
Improvement of flavour Coffee beans Coffee
Grapes Wine
Cassava
• Fresh cassava contains cyanhydric acid (HCN)
that should be eliminated from any product
originating from cassava to render it fit for
human consumption. Depending on the
production method (particularly traditional
methods) gari could contains up to 20 mg / kg
of HCN - against 43 mg / kg for fresh peeled
cassava.
• Gari is a fermented, gelled and dehydrated
food produced from fresh cassava. It is a
popular diet in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana
and in other West Africa's countries. The
consumption area even expands to Central
Africa: Gabon, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville
and Angola.
• Polvilho is a fine tapioca/manioc/cassava flour.
it can be found at latino markets in california as
"sour starch" (polvilho azedo) or "sweet starch"
(polvilho doce)
Nata de Coco
• A high fiber, zero fat Philippino dessert.
• A chewy, translucent, jelly-like food product
produced by the bacterial fermentation of
coconut milk.
• Commonly sweetened as a candy or dessert,
and can accompany many things including
pickles, drinks, ice cream, and fruit mixes.
• Highly regarded for its high dietary fiber, and
its zero fat and cholesterol content.
• It is produced through a series of steps
ranging from milk extraction, mixing,
fermentation, separating, cleaning, cutting to
packaging.
Lactic Acid Bacteria
• Major group of Fermentative
organisms.
• This group is comprised of 11
genera of gram-positive
bacteria:
• Carnobacterium, Oenococcus,
Enterococcus, Pediococcus,
Lactococcus, Streptococcus,
Lactobacillus, Vagococcus,
Lactosphaera, Weissells and
Lecconostoc
• Related to this group are
genera such as Aerococcus,
Microbacterium, and
Propionbacterium.
Lactic Acid Bacteria
• While this is a loosely defined group with no precise boundaries
all members share the property of producing lactic acid from
hexoses.
• As fermenting organisms, they lack functional heme-linked
electron transport systems or cytochromes, they do not have a
functional Krebs cycle.
• Energy is obtained by substrate-level phosphorylation while
oxidising carbohydrates.
Lactic Acid Bacteria
• The lactic acid bacteria can be divided into two groups based on
the end products of glucose metabolism.
• Those that produce lactic acid as the major or sole product of
glucose fermentation are designated homofermentative.
• Those that produce equal amounts of lactic acid, ethanol and
CO2 are termed heterofermentative.
• The homolactics are able to extract about twice as much energy
from a given quantity of glucose as the heterolactics.
Lactic Acid Bacteria
• All members of Pediococcus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus,
Vagococcus, along with some lactobacilli are
homofermenters.
• Carnobacterium, Oenococcus, Enterococcus, Lactosphaera,
Weissells and Lecconostoc and some Lactobacilli are
heterofermenters
• The heterolactics are more important than the homolactics in
producing flavour and aroma components such as
acetylaldehyde and diacetyl.
Lactic Acid Bacteria - Growth
• The lactic acid bacteria are mesophiles:
– they generally grow over a temperature range
of about 10 to 40oC,
– an optimum between 25 and 35oC.
– Some can grow below 5 and as high as 45 oC.
• Most can grow in the pH range from 4 to 8. Though some as
low as 3.2 and as high as 9.6.
Starter Cultures
• Traditionally the fermenting organisms came from the natural
microflora or a portion of the previous fermentation.
• In many cases the natural microflora is either inefficient,
uncontrollable, and unpredictable, or is destroyed during
preparation of the sample prior to fermentation (eg
pasteurisation).
• A starter culture can provide particular characteristics in a
more controlled and predictable fermentation.
Starter Cultures
• Lactic starters always include bacteria that convert
sugars to lactic acid, usually:
– Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis,
– Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris or
– Lactococccus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis.
• Where flavour and aroma compounds such as diacetyl
are desired the lactic acid starter will include
heterofermentative organisms such as:
– Leuconostoc citrovorum or
– Leuconostoc dextranicum.
Starter Cultures
• The primary function of lactic starters is the production of
lactic acid from sugars
• Other functions of starter cultures may include the
following:
• flavour, aroma, and alcohol production
• proteolytic and lipolytic activities
• inhibition of undesirable organisms
A good starter CULTURE will:
• Convert most of the sugars to lactic acid
• Increase the lactic acid concentration to
0.8 to 1.2 % (Titratable acidity)
• Drop the pH to between 4.3 to 4.5
• Food scientists frequently use the ability of
bacterial cells to grow and form colonies on solid
media to:
– isolate bacteria from foods,
– to determine what types and
– how many bacteria are present.
• Streak plates
A single bacterial colony
The streak plate technique
• Bacteria are “streaked”over the surface of an agar plate
so as to obtain single colonies.
• Obtaining single colonies is important as it enables;
– the size,
– shape and
– colour of the individual colonies to be examined.
– It can also highlight the presence of contaminating
micro-organisms
The Streak Plate Technique
When conditions are right bacteria can double in number every
20 minutes
Microscopic examination
• Can provide information on the size
and shape of the bacteria
– Rods (1)
– Cocci (2)
– Spiral (3)
• It cannot provide enough information
to enable bacteria to be identified
Microscopic views of stained bacteria
Lactobacillus spp.
Lactococcus spp.
