ABSTRACT
Fermentation has been a traditional method used to produce and preserve foods and had been practiced in many parts of the world for thousands of years. The origin of fermentation may have begun with the storage of surplus milk, which resulted in a fermented product the next day. Next to drying, fermentation is the oldest food preservation method. Fermented foods are those foods that have been subjected to the action of one or more organisms or enzymes, and biochemical changes cause signi™cant modi™cation to the starting materials (Campbell-Platt 1994). Fermented foods are of great signi™cance because they provide and preserve vast quantities of nutritious foods in a wide variety of •avors, aromas, and textures, which enrich the human diet (Steinkraus 1994). As a process, fermentation consists of the transformation of simple raw materials into a range of value added, nutritive, and therapeutic products by utilizing the phenomena of the growth of microorganisms and their activities on various substrates. This involves knowledge of microorganisms to understand the biochemical and metabolic process of fermentation. Like all other processed foods, fermented foods result from a manufacturing process involving
16.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 415 16.2 Effect of Oxygen on the Viability of Microorganisms
in Fermented Foods................................................................................417 16.3Active Food Packaging .................................................................................. 418
16.3.1Oxygen Scavengers ............................................................................ 418 16.3.2ZERO2™ Oxygen-Scavenging Materials and Applications .............. 420 16.3.3Reduction of Dissolved Oxygen in Fermented Foods (Yoghurt) ...... 421 16.3.4Other Examples of Oxygen Scavengers ............................................ 422 16.3.5Other Examples of Gaseous Forms of Scavengers, Emitters,
Releasers, and Absorbers................................................................... 423 16.4Antimicrobial Food Packaging ......................................................................424 16.5Modi™ed Atmospheric Packaging.................................................................. 427 16.6Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 430 References ................................................................................................................ 431
selection of raw materials, preparatory treatments, the fermentation operations, preservation, packaging, and storage. Hence fermented foods may be considered as safe foods for humans because their manufacture involves a combination of hurdles (low pH, low water activity, presence of competitive micro•ora, end products of fermentation that inhibit spoilage bacteria, curing salts, etc.) to pathogen survival or growth (Gounadaki et al. 2007). However, improper manufacture, preservation, and, especially, inadequate packaging will lead to a fermented product unsafe for human consumption.
