Review Food fermentations: Microorganisms with technological beneficial use (original) (raw)

Inventory of Microbial Food Cultures with Safety Demonstartion in Fermented Food Products

Bulletin of the IDF No 495, 2018

Since 2002, the International Dairy Federation (FIL-IDF), in collaboration with the European Food and Feed Cultures Association, has been conducting a project on the demonstration of the safety of microbial food cultures. Following the publication of FIL-IDF Bulletin 377-2002, in 2012 a joint action team of the Standing Committee Microbiological Hygiene (SCMH) and the Standing Committee Nutrition and Health (SCNH) published a scientific rationale for the inventory of microbial food cultures with demonstrated safe use in food product(s). In 2017/2018, a new joint action team of the Standing Committee Microbiological Hygiene (SCMH) and Standing Committee Dairy Science and Technology (SCSDT) reviewed the 2012 published rationale and available taxonomic updates in order to update the inventory of microbial food cultures. Simultaneously, a questionnaire was sent to all national committee members of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) for submission of new species based on the published scientific rationale. The current IDF Bulletin provides an updated inventory that replaces the one published in 2012.

Bacterial diversity and functionalities in food fermentations

Engineering in Life Sciences, 2012

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a central role in several food fermentations, producing lactic acid besides other metabolic actions. Popular fermented foods that rely on the use of LAB include fermented meats, sourdoughs, and fermented dairy products. During fermentation, LAB are frequently accompanied by other microorganisms, such as coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), yeasts, and filamentous fungi. Whereas fermentation was originally a spontaneous and empiric process, most industrial processes make now use of starter cultures to speed up the fermentation process and standardise the end products and to reduce the risks on misfermentation. A drawback of using commercial starter cultures is their suboptimal selection, which is often solely based on mere technological features. Currently, functional starter cultures are being developed to further optimise the process and to yield additional nutritional, safety, and quality benefits. Specific metabolic properties are being sought for, with a focus on novel, interesting molecules that may, for instance, inhibit undesirable microorganisms, display nutraceutical properties, or contribute to flavour and texture attributes.