Using Microbial Succession to the Processor's Advantage: Food Fermentation and Biocontrol

Abstract

Food fermentation is one of humankind’s oldest methods of preservation. It is used to preserve, enhance, and add flavor to many different types of foods. In this chapter, the author examines the roles of microbes in fermentation and the general principles involved in fermentations, including how the primary fermentation organisms interact with the other microbes present in the fermentation and the roles these other microbes have in both product quality and safety. The types of substrate and fermented products can vary greatly, from fermented milk products that contain ethanol such as koumiss to the production of distilled beverages such as whiskey. A section focuses on beer and wine, two of today's most popular fermented products. The fermentation process in the case of cereals differs from the processes involved in vegetable, wine, and dairy fermentations in that it is conducted in order to create a more functional product, whereas the other fermentations are primarily conducted to increase the shelf life of the substrate. Interestingly, it was found that as with the bacterial populations, there were two separate phage-host populations, with phage from the heterolactic segment of the fermentation unable to infect bacteria from the succeeding homolactic fermentation.