ABSTRACT
Traditional fermented foods (TFF) are an important part of the diet in Africa. Althoughthesehavebeeninexistenceforcenturies,scienti™cknowledgeaboutthem wasavailableonlyinthelatterpartofthetwentiethcentury.Thesefoodswereas importantcenturiesagoastheyaretoday.Someofthewell-knownonesincludegari,a cassava-basedproduct;ogi,acorn-basedproductfromNigeria;andmahewu,another corn-basedproductfromSouthAfrica.Muchofthedevelopmentsconcentratedon theprocessingtechnologyincludingthemachineryforproducingthem.Verylittle
12.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 323 12.2History ............................................................................................................ 324 12.3Classi™cation .................................................................................................. 324 12.4Methods of Production ................................................................................... 326
12.4.1Fermented Nonalcoholic Cereal Products ......................................... 327 12.4.2Fermented Starchy Root Products ..................................................... 328 12.4.3Fermented Animal Proteins .............................................................. 330 12.4.4Fermented Vegetable Proteins ........................................................... 331 12.4.5Alcoholic Beverages .......................................................................... 334
12.5Microbiology .................................................................................................. 335 12.5.1Functional Microorganisms .............................................................. 335
12.5.1.1Fermented Nonalcoholic Cereal Substrates ....................... 335 12.5.1.2Starchy Root Crop Products .............................................. 336 12.5.1.3Microorganisms in Fermented Animal Proteins ............... 336 12.5.1.4Microorganisms Associated with Fermented African
Vegetable Proteins ............................................................. 337 12.5.1.5Alcoholic Beverages .......................................................... 338
12.5.2Safety and Improvement of Shelf Life .............................................. 338 12.5.3Natural Toxins and Anti-Nutritive Factors ........................................ 339 12.5.4Nutritional Properties ........................................................................340
12.6Market Potential ............................................................................................. 342 12.7Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 342 References ................................................................................................................ 343
was known about the microbiology or the chemistry of the processes. However, the last20yearshavewitnessedanexplosionofknowledgeinthescienceofTFF.Many conferencesandworkshopshavebeenorganizedonthemandimportant™ndings havebeenreported(HalmandJakobsen1996).Theimportanceoffermentedfoods intheAfricanfoodcultureisasfollows:theyprovidevarietyinthe•avorofexisting staplesbasicallycerealsandrootcrops,theyserveasacheapwayofpreservation, andtheyenhancethenutritionalqualityanddigestibilityoftherawfoodmaterials. Inaddition,somefoodsthatarenormallyinediblearemadeediblebyfermentation. Recentknowledgehasalsoshownthatsomeofthefoodproductshaveanticholesterolemiceffects(Dikeetal.2001),viricidaleffects(Gilbertetal.1983),andantitumor andantileukemiceffects(Esseretal.1983,Shabanietal.1983).Decreasedtoxicity hasalsobeenreportedforsomeproducts(Odunfa1985a,b).Someofthesefoods havebeenfoundtoprovideusefulprobioticeffectswhentheyaredirectlyconsumed (Mathara et al. 2008a,b).
