Fermented Foods as a Dietary Source of Live Organisms

Abstract

The popularity of fermented foods and beverages is due to their enhanced shelf-life, safety, functionality, sensory, and nutritional properties. The latter includes the presence of bioactive molecules, vitamins, and other constituents with increased availability due to the process of fermentation. Many fermented foods also contain live microorganisms that may improve gastrointestinal health and provide other health benefits, including lowering the risk of type two diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The number of organisms in fermented foods can vary significantly, depending on how products were manufactured and processed, as well as conditions and duration of storage. In this review, we surveyed published studies in which lactic acid and other relevant bacteria were enumerated from the most commonly consumed fermented foods, including cultured dairy products, cheese, fermented sausage, fermented vegetables, soy-fermented foods, and fermented cereal products. Most of the reported data were based on retail food samples, rather than experimentally produced products made on a laboratory scale. Results indicated that many of these fermented foods contained 105−7 lactic acid bacteria per mL or gram, although there was considerable variation based on geographical region and sampling time. In general, cultured dairy products consistently contained higher levels, up to 109/mL or g. Although few specific recommendations and claim legislations for what constitutes a relevant dose exist, the findings from this survey revealed that many fermented foods are a good source of live lactic acid bacteria, including species that reportedly provide human health benefits.

Nutritional, Microbial, and Allergenic Changes during the Fermentation of Cashew ‘Cheese’ Product Using a Quinoa-Based Rejuvelac Starter Culture

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that many fermented foods are a reliable source for lactic acid bacteria, with counts of 10 5 -10 7 CFU/mL or g [32]. These include the genera found in this study.…”

“…The increase in counts after fermentation can be explained by the proliferation of bacteria in the nutrient rich cashew mix. These counts are higher than the levels generally found in fermented foods which usually contain 10 5 -10 7 CFU/mL or g of lactic acid bacteria [32]. The exception is fermented dairy products with cell counts up to 10 9 CFU/mL [32].…”

“…These counts are higher than the levels generally found in fermented foods which usually contain 10 5 -10 7 CFU/mL or g of lactic acid bacteria [32]. The exception is fermented dairy products with cell counts up to 10 9 CFU/mL [32]. The high presence of bacteria might imply that the bacteria are metabolizing molecules into by-products that increase the product's nutrient content.…”

Identification of New Peptides from Fermented Milk Showing Antioxidant Properties: Mechanism of Action

“…Due to the presence of health-promoting compounds, fermented foods are considered important components of the human diet [1]. In fact, this type of food processing not only improves the organoleptic properties of the food matrix, but it can also increase the availability of various constituents, which can exert positive effects after consumption [2]. Among these compounds, bioactive peptides are inactive in the primary structure of proteins and can be released from them by fermenting bacteria-mediated…”

“…In particular, for dairy products, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Bifidobacterium spp are usually employed [2,7]. Bioactive peptides generated from milk can originate both from whey proteins (β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, serum albumin, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin and protease-peptone fractions) and from caseins (α-, βand κ-casein) [8][9][10].…”