Food Fermentation:
Bioprocess by micro-organisms
and their enzymes
Desirable product properties
Bioprocess:
ingredients:
food components
micro-organisms
water
operations:
physical
biological
thermal
Desirable properties
Appeal
Exterior
Texture
Odour
Taste
Desirable properties
Appeal
Utility
Volume reduction
Cooking time reduction
Shelf-life
Nutrient retention
Valorisation of by-products
Desirable properties
Appeal
Utility
Functionality
Safety
Digestibility
Probiotic effect
Other physiological effects
What are the benefits of
food fermentation?
Improving food security by fermentation
* A wide range of fermented foods have been
prepared by natural or controlled fermentation of
cereals, fruits and vegetables, and animal products.
* Agricultural crops can undergo rapid deterioration
under the warm and humid conditions.
* Other processing options such as drying, freezing
and canning are not economically viable.
* Fermentation is a cheap and energy efficient means
of preserving food for consumption at a later date.
Salvaging waste foods by fermentation
* Waste foods are converted to nutritious food
product by fermentation.
* Tempe-bongrek - a protein rich food made by
fermenting peanut or coconut press-cake.
* Meitauza- a protein rich food produced by
fermentation of okara (soybean milk residue).
* Vinegar: a popular condiment made from
pineapple peel by acetic acid fermentation.
Removal of anti-nutritional factors
by fermentation
* Many plant foods contain naturally occurring
anti-nutritional compounds.
* Cyanide in cassava is removed by fermentation
and the fermented product is safe to eat.
* The aflatoxin content of peanut cake can be
greatly reduced by fermentation with the
tempe mold Rhizopus oligosporus
Increasing income and employment
by food fermentation
* Fermented foods are popular throughout the
world
* The food fermentation industry produces a
wide variety of fermented foods from plant
and animal sources.
* Production of fermented foods provides
income and employment to millions of
people in developing countries.
Improving nutrition by
food fermentation
* Increasing the levels of vitamins and
nutritional value in the final product.
* Fermented foods are more easily digestible
than unfermented foods.
Medicinal benefits of fermented foods
* Koumiss, a fermented milk product in Russia,
has been used to treat tuberculosis
* Children in Tanzania fed with fermented
gruels had a much lower rate of diarrhea those
fed unfermented gruels due to the inhibition of
pathogens by lactic acid bacteria.
Improving cultural and social well being
by food fermentation
* Fermented products play an important role in
human spiritual and cultural life.
* Fermentation can improve the flavor, aroma and
appearance of food.
* Fermented soybean products (soy sauce, miso, sufu
or chao, tuong, etc.) are used as condiments to
enhance a dull diet.
* A small amount of fermented vegetables such as
pickle and sauerkraut can make a bland starchy
meal much more appealing.
What are the principles of
food fermentation
First principle
Food substrates overgrown with desirable
microorganisms become resistant to invasion by
spoilage microorganisms. Other, less desirable
organisms find it difficult to compete.
An example is Indonesia tempe, a fermented
soybean product with Rhizopus oligosporus.
Second principle
Fermentation involving lactic acid production
are generally safe.
Lactic acid bacteria ferment sugars to lactic acid.
Spoilage organisms and pathogens are less able to
invade high acid foods.
Fermented milk products (yogurt, cheese, etc.) are safe
to eat.
Third principle
Fermented products (wine, beer, etc) made by
alcoholic fermentations are safe.
Yeasts convert fermentable sugars to ethanol.
A yeast-like mold (Amylomyces rouxii) or a koji mold
(Aspergillus oryzae) is used to produce fermented foods
and beverages from rice.
Fourth principle
Fermentations involving production of acetic acid
yield safe foods or condiments.
Acetic acid is a microbial inhibitor.
Vinegar made by acetic acid fermentation, is a
condiment used in pickling and preserving vegetables.
Fifth principle
Fermented foods (Natto, thua-no, kenima, etc.) made
by highly alkaline fermentations are safe to eat.
Ammonia is released by an essential bacteria Bacillus
subtilis, and the pH reaches 8.0 or higher during
fermentation, preventing the growth of undesirable
Organisms.
Sixth principle
Food fermentations carried out under high salt
conditions (above 13% w/w) are generally safe.
Meaty flavored sauces and pastes are made from
soybeans or fish in the presence of high salt concentration.
Mold enzymes or fish gut enzymes hydrolyze soybean or
fish proteins to yield amino acids and peptides.
Tropical LAB fermented products
Ingredients Fermented product Mode of
(Geography) consumption
Milk:
cow or buffalo dahi (India) yoghurt
Meat:
pork or beef chorizo (Mexico) dry sausage
Fish:
fish, salt, pla-ra (Thailand) fish paste
roasted rice
Tropical mould fermented products
Moulds Raw Materials Fermented foods
Amylomyces rouxii glutinous rice tape ketan
cassava peuyeum
Aspergillus oryzae, soya + rice/barley miso
A. soyae soya + wheat + salt soya sauce
Penicillium milk curd blue-veined
roqueforti cheese
P. nalgiovense, P. sausage meat mould-ripened
chrysogenum sausages
Rhizopus soya beans tempe
oligosporus, R.
oryzae
Yeast fermentations
Alcoholic fermentation
Animal feeding
Volatile flavours
Case study
Purple glutinous rice
Starch-based starters
Crude turbid wine
Clear filtered wine
Purple glutinous rice
soak with water
for 4 hours
at room temperature
steam at 100ºC
for 1 hour
The gelatinized rice paste:
cool to 40ºC
inoculate with starter
mix well
Fungal growth under aerobic condition for 3 days at 30ºC
Alcoholic fermentation:
under anaerobic condition
for 7 days
at 30ºC
The whole fermented rice mass is homogenized
Clear wine
Asian Fungal Fermented Food:
Tempe
The Product Fungal fermented beans, cereals, by-products
Origin: Java, Indonesia
Glycine max (yellow skinned soybean)
Nutritious, digestible, delicious
Meat replacer !
Asian Fungal Fermented Food:
Tempe
Industrial aspects
Process developments:
-Mechanical dehulling of beans
-Packaging of fermenting beans
-Improved starters
-Semi-continuous processing
Development of new products:
-Burgers
-Snacks
-Salads
-Spreads
Health products:
-Anti—diarrhoea effect in humans and animals
-Nutrition for compromized patients