Bacterial diversity and functionalities in food fermentations

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.