Fermentation - the key to food safety assurance in Africa?

Fermentation is widely practised at the household level as a method of preparing and preserving food, especially cereals, milk, fish and oil seeds. Evaluation of the microbial safety of these foods has involved deliberate inoculation with a number of pathogens. The Gram-negative bacteria appear to be more susceptible to the effects of fermentation, but the Gram-positive bacteria, especially Bacillus cereus, may be more resistant. The microbial safety of these foods, seen in vitro, is not always apparent at the household level. This is especially so with the porridges, the preparation of which involves the addition of large volumes of water Dumplings, however appear to be microbiologically safer than the porridges. In view of the presence of certain antimicrobial factors in fermented foods and the lack of standardisation in the methods used in the studies reviewed in this paper; carefully designed studies are proposed to find methods for enhancing the inhibitory effects of fermented foods. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.