ABSTRACT
Most of the research in probiotics and functional foods has been carried out in developed, countries where there is an increasing number of consumers expressing an avid interest in functional foods. However, in several developing countries fermented food products have played an important role in the daily diet of the most vulnerable groups of the population for centuries (Obodai and Dodd 2006, Franz et al. 2014). Hence the identification of probiotic strains and the transfer of this knowledge is of great relevance to these communities. The development and/or standardization of the production of fermented food products containing probiotics should be taken in consideration when implementing strategies for food security and could contribute to the efforts to achieve the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (Franz et al. 2014).
