ABSTRACT
Food fermentation has been practiced for millennia with the result that there is a tremendous variety of avor and taste-enriched fermented foods derived from milk, meat, and plants. Fermented foods were dened by Campbell-Platt (1987) as those foods that have been subjected to the action of microorganisms or enzymes so that desirable biochemical changes cause signicant modication to the food. Food fermentation has shown to have not only preservative effects and the capability of modifying the physicochemical properties of various foods, but also to improve the
7.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 169 7.2 Examples of Harmful Components in Food Raw Materials
and Their Effects .......................................................................................... 170 7.2.1 Pathogenic Microorganisms in Milk ................................................ 170 7.2.2 Linamarin ......................................................................................... 171 7.2.3 Mycotoxins ....................................................................................... 171
7.3 Microorganisms Responsible for Elimination of Harmful Components ..... 174 7.3.1 Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) .............................................................. 174 7.3.2 Yeasts and Other Microorganisms ................................................... 175
7.4 Mechanisms Associated with Elimination of Harmful Components........... 175 7.4.1 Preservation of Food against Harmful Microorganisms .................. 175 7.4.2 Detoxication of Cassava ................................................................. 177
7.5 Safety of Fermented Foods as a Result of Elimination of Harmful Components .................................................................................................. 178
7.6 Concluding Remarks .................................................................................... 179 References .............................................................................................................. 179
nutritional and functional quality of foods (Knorr 1998). Fermentation reactions are known to improve the nutritional value of foods (Paredes-López and Harry 1988). Fermentation can enhance the nutritional value of a food product through increased vitamin levels and improved digestibility. Many fruit and vegetable products contain toxins and antinutritional compounds that can be removed or detoxied by the action of microorganisms during fermentation. Fermentation may also lead to the detoxi- cation and destruction of undesirable factors present in raw foods such as phytates, tannins, and polyphenols (Sharma and Kapoor 1996).
