UNIT 5

FOOD FERMENTATIONS

LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION

Food microbiology can be divided into three focus areas; beneficial microorganisms, spoilage
microorganisms, and disease causing microorganisms. Beneficial microorganisms are those
used in food fermentation to produce products such as cheese, fermented meat (pepperoni),
fermented vegetables (pickles), fermented dairy products (yoghurt), and ethnic fermented
products such as sauerkraut, idli and kimchi. In fermented products (produced by natural or
control fermentation), microorganisms metabolize complex substrates to produce enzymes,
flavor compounds, acids, and antimicrobial agents to improve product shelf-life and to prevent
pathogens growth and to provide product attributes.

DEFINITION

In the biochemical sense, the term fermentation refers to a metabolic process in which organic
compounds (particularly carbohydrates) are broken down to release energy without the
involvement of a terminal electron acceptor such as oxygen. Partial oxidation of the substrate
occurs so that only a relatively small amount of ATP energy is released compared with the
energy generated if a terminal acceptor is involved. Partial oxidation of a carbohydrate can give
rise to a variety of organic compounds. The compounds produced by micro-organisms vary from
organism to organism and are produced via different metabolic pathways.

The term fermentation can also be applied to any industrial process that produces a material that
is useful to humans and if the process depends on the activity of one or more micro-organisms.
These processes, known as industrial fermentations, are usually carried out on a large scale and
in vessels in which the organisms are normally grown in liquid media. Some industrial

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fermentations are fermentation’s in the biochemical sense but the majority of microorganisms are
aerobic and use oxygen and metabolize carbohydrates completely.

FOOD FERMENTATION- SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The science of fermentation is known as zymology . Food fermentation involves all those
fermentation processes where either the ultimate product is used directly as a food, as an additive
to food or is a basic ingredient to the food or the by-product formed during fermentation, food
waste utilization, their disposal or proper management. absence of the enzyme galactosidase in
digestive juices, which converts lactose to glucose and galactose. Ingestion of dairy products
leaves unabsorbed lactose in the gut, which is fermented by the normal gut flora giving
flatulence, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The fermentation of milk converts the harmful lactose
to the more easily digested lactate, and the galactosidase in live starter culture organisms appears
to assist in the digestion of any residual lactose. Legumes, e.g. soyabean, contain
oligosaccharides such as stachyose which are fermented in the gut to give gas and the associated
socially embarrassing flatus. The oligosaccharides are broken down to readily digestible
monosaccharides and disacccharides during mould fermentation of legumes, thus removing the
problem. As a science the food fermentation, has an element of biological sciences especially the
microbiology, genetics and biochemistry, as a technology the food technology, chemical
engineering along with integral component of sciences involved in food toxicity, acceptability
and food nutrition. For any process to make fermented food, essential components are raw
materials, micro-organism(starter cultures), fermentation vessel and associated controls,
processing, recovery and packing systems, but from fermentation technology point of view, the
fermenter and micro-organism involved assumes prime importance. Since the end product would
serve as a food, it is essentially to evaluate it from nutritional toxicology and sensory qualities
point of view and thus, the knowledge of these aspects would form an integral part of food
fermentation technology, the technological dimensions of food fermentation toward the input of
engineering sciences in designing the fermenters and associated controls for optimum
fermentation and product recovery are immense. As the product on the commercial scale would

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be marketed, which can occur only if it is economical and the economics of such products and
the associated marketing aspects cannot be ignored. Similarly, transfer of the knowledge to the
scale of technology operation required is of paramount importance. The scale up operations,
harvesting, biocatalysis of micro-organisms, product recovery effluent, treatment etc. are of
concern of fermentation technologists. Food fermentation technology could be organized based
either on the product or the system used to make the fermented foods or products derived from it
similar to food biotechnology(refer Fig.4.2)

Raw Material

Microbial cells
or Enzymes

Pretreatment

Medium nutrients

Sterilization
Biocatalyst
(immobilized or free) Substrate and nutrients

Bioreactor

Purification

Processing Products Waste Utilization or (Thermal,

Chemical, treatment
Freezing, Drying etc.)

Packaging By-products Useful products

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 Labelling

Marketing

Fig A generalized scheme of various operations employed in food fermentation technology

LECTURE -2

TYPES OF FOOD FERMENTATIONS

A number of different types of food fermentation can be recognized.

1 Acid Food Fermentation

These include : acid fermented dairy products, e.g. cheese, butter, yoghurt and kefir;acid
fermented vegetable products, e.g. sauerkraut, olives and various pickles;acid fermented meat
products, e.g. the semidry fermented meats such as cerevelat and the dry fermented meats such
as salami and pepperoni; sourdough breads.

The common feature of all these products is the use of lactic acid bacteria to carry out the basic
fermentation process. Modern production usually involves the use of starter cultures. The one
exception is the fermentation of sauerkraut for which the process depends on lactic acid bacteria
that are natural inhabitants of the surface of cabbage leaves. Sometimes sugar is added to raw-
material to allow the lactic acid to produce sufficient acid for a successful fermentation. This is
the case with fermented meats in which the sugar content of the raw material is very slow. Salt
may be added to suppress the growth of the normal spoilage micro flora and allow the lactic acid
bacteria to dominate, e.g. sauerkraut, pickles and fermented meats. The raw materials may be
pasteurized to eliminate pathogens and suppress natural contaminants that compete with the
lactic acid bacteria used in the starter culture.

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II Yeast Fermentation

Yeasts are important in food fermentation because of their ability to produce carbon dioxide and
ethanol. Carbon dioxide is the important metabolic product in the manufacture of leavened bread
whereas ethanol is metabolized in the production of beers, wines and spirits.

III.Solid State Fermentation

Solid state fermentation involves the use of a solid substrate into which the fermenting organism
is inoculated. The organisms used are often molds. Examples are the ‘koji’ process and the
second stage of tempeh fermentation.

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MICROORANISMS USED IN FOOD FERMENTATION

S. No. PRODUCT COUNTRY SUBSTRA MICROORGANISM NATURE AND

/ TE (S) INVOLVED USE

REGION

1. NATTO Northern Soyabeans Bacillus natto Solid cake, as a

Japan meat substitute

2. PAPADAM India Black gram Saccharomyces sp. Solid, crisp,

condiment

3. SOY Japan, Soybeans & Lactic Acid Bacteria, Liquid drink,

SAUCE China, Wheat seasoning agent
Philippines A. oryzae, A. sojae, for meat, fish
& Oriental Lactobacillus sp., and cereals.
countries Saccharomyces
rouxii

4. TEMPEH Indonesia Soyabeans Rhizopus sp. Fried in oil,

and nearby roasted, as a
regions meat substitute

5 WARIES India Black gram Candida sp. Spongy, spicy

flour condiment
Saccharomyces sp.

5 JALEBIES India, Nepal Wheat flour Saccharomyces Syrup filled

& Pakistan bayanus confectionary

7. KANJI India Rice & Hansenula anomala Sour liquid

Carrots added to
vegetables

8. MISO Japan, Rice & Aspergillus oryzae Paste, soup base

China soyabeans
Torulopsis etchellsii

Lactobacillus sp.

Saccharomyces

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 rouxii

9 DOSAI India Black gram Yeasts Spongy

& rice breakfast food

10 IDLI India Black gram L. mesenteroides Spongy, moist

& rice breakfast food
T. candida

Trichosporon
pullulans

11. TORANI India Rice H. anomala Seasoning for

vegetables
C. guilliermondii

C. tropicalis

G. candidum