ABSTRACT
The most common meaning of fermentation is the conversion of a sugar into an organic acid or an alcohol. Fermentation occurs naturally in many foods and humans have intentionally used it since ancient times to improve both the preservation and organoleptic properties of food. However, the term “fermentation” is also used in a broader sense for the intentional use of microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, and fungi to make products useful to humans (biomass, enzymes, primary and secondary metabolites, recombinant products, and products of biotransformation) on an industrial scale.
