ABSTRACT
The period since the early 1990s has seen numerous developments aimed at improving the functionality of foods. This can be realized by appropriate selection of raw materials, specific physicochemical processing, or the addition of ingredients (including healthbeneficial microorganisms). However, in many cases food functionality can also be enhanced via biological conversions such as by exploiting the activity of lactic acid bacteria or other microbes with a long history of safe use in the food industry. Lactic acid bacteria are used for the industrial production of fermented dairy, vegetable, and meat products and form a group of evolutionarily related low-GC-content gram-positive bacteria, comprising species of Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, or Leuconostoc. Related gram-positive bacteria such as strains of Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, or the somewhat more distantly related (high GC content) Bifidobacterium or Propionibacterium spp. are used for specific food fermentations and can be applied similarly (Fig. 1). Whereas traditionally lactic acid and related bacteria have been applied as starter bacteria, most food innovations of lactic acid and related bacteria are correlated to their use in fermentations with a specific function or the production of ingredients that have potential as nutraceuticals. Yet another important application of these microorganisms is their inclusion as live cells in food and feed matrixes or nutritional complements for the design of health-promoting-probiotic or functional-food products.
