Background

Overview of Food Microbial Fermentation

Food fermentation is an ancient biotechnology that dates back to early human civilization. It uses microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, and mold, to transform food ingredients into foods with specific flavor, texture, and nutritional properties. Over time, food fermentation technology has evolved from a traditional natural fermentation process to a highly controlled and optimized industrial process. From a biochemical perspective, fermentation is a metabolic process by which organic compounds are converted into energy without the involvement of oxidants. Fermentation is very diverse, and different microbes have different mechanisms for converting glucose into energy. For example, lactic fermentation and ethanol fermentation are two common types of fermentation, which are used to produce foods such as yogurt, pickles, bread, and alcoholic beverages, respectively.

In modern times, food fermentation engineering is a major component of food bioengineering, which not only improves the strains, fermentation process and product quality of traditional fermented foods, but also promotes the development of new products, such as functional food ingredients and future foods. The progress of biotechnology and information technology has brought about a multi-level change in the research methods and production methods of food fermentation. For example, the use of food synthetic biology to design and construct strain factories, as well as the intelligent process of food bioengineering in microbial analysis, process engineering and separation engineering, are the current research hotspots in the field of food fermentation.

Fig. 1. Fermentation's primary benefits. (Siddiqui, et al., 2023)

Application of Food Microbial Fermentation

Food fermentation is a transformative process that has been used for thousands of years to preserve food, enhance flavors, and increase nutritional value. The application of food fermentation is vast and continues to evolve with advancements in technology and consumer preferences. Here are examples of the applications of food fermentation:

Production of Bioactive Compounds: Fermentation can lead to the formation of bioactive compounds with potential health benefits, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and organic acids.

Nutrient Enhancement: Some fermentation processes can increase the bioavailability of nutrients, such as the production of vitamin K2 in fermented dairy products or the enhancement of B-vitamins in fermented soy foods.

Appearance improvement: Firstly, the fermentation process can create a wide range of flavors in foods. Also, fermentation can alter the texture of foods, such as the leavening of bread dough by yeast.

Food Safety: Fermented foods can be safer to consume due to the reduction of harmful pathogens and the production of natural preservatives.

Industrial Applications: Fermentation is used to produce enzymes for various industrial uses, including food processing. Some biofuels, like ethanol, are produced through the fermentation of sugars derived from biomass.

Future Applications: Fermentation is being explored as a way to produce alternative proteins from sources like algae or fungi. Fermentation could play a role in producing food for long-duration space missions due to its preservation properties.

Food fermentation is a series of technologies used to produce food by culturing, harvesting, isolating and processing microbial matter. These technologies include microbes, substrates, fermentation processes, and they are key to achieving large-scale sustainable food production. Technical challenges for food fermentation include improving production efficiency, optimizing fermentation processes, and developing new substrate sources. Creative BioMart Microbe has focused on food fermentation for many years and strives to serve clients by providing diverse services ranging from strains improvement to fermentation optimization. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

Service Procedure

Platforms

Services Details

Probiotic Raw Material Fermentation Service

Prebiotics are "food" for probiotics, which are living microbes that directly benefit the host. both prebiotics and probiotics are beneficial to gut health. By selecting suitable probiotic strains, optimizing fermentation conditions and controlling various parameters in the production process, Creative BioMart Microbe is committed to providing customers with customized probiotic fermentation services in food and producing satisfactory fermentation products. The common probiotic strains we can offer include but are not limited to: Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus thermophilus, Saccharomyces boulardii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bacillus subtilis and so on.

Food-grade Strains Fermentation Service

With the development of science and technology, the modern food industry uses specific microbial strains to control the fermentation process and improve the quality and consistency of products. Creative BioMart Microbe focuses on using these carefully selected and identified microbial strains to ensure the safety and efficiency of the fermentation process. Food-grade strain fermentation can produce a variety of products, including but not limited to fermented beverages (e.g., yogurt, beer), condiments (e.g., soy sauce, vinegar), food additives (e.g., enzymes, acids), and functional food ingredients (e.g., probiotics, prebiotics), or animal feed.

Probiotic Product Formulation Optimization Service

With the continuous expansion of the market, the competition of probiotic products is becoming increasingly fierce. How to use existing materials to develop new products and innovative product formulations to obtain healthier food is an urgent problem to think about. Creative BioMart Microbe focuses on culturing high-quality probiotics for supplying production materials and producing probiotic agents based on years of food fermentation experience and advanced technology platforms. We are committed to providing our customers with a full chain of services covering the upstream and downstream, from formulation improvement to probiotic testing and even multiple post-treatment technologies.

Our Advantages

• Extensive experience in processing fermentation strains, including Streptomyces, Actinomyces, Yeast, Fungi, Escherichia coli, Bacillus, and genetically modified organisms.
• Downstream equipment includes centrifuges, microfilters, ultrafilters, reverse osmosis devices, filter dryers and bell filters.
• Fermentation facilities include fermenters of all sizes, from laboratory scale to pilot scale, pre-industrial scale and industrial scale, equipped with temperature, pH value, oxygen dioxide, air, pressure, stirring control and regulations.
• Our chemical and microbiological laboratories provide analytical support for the quality control of raw materials and final products.

Case Study

Case Study 1: Optimization of medium composition in the process of bacterial fermentation.

Initial assessments revealed bacterial contamination in the initial microbial strain. Through a meticulous three-stage process of strain isolation and purification, we achieved a pure strain. We then conducted a thorough screening of various carbon and nitrogen sources, along with other critical parameters, to determine the most effective formulae for the strain's growth. Subsequent to this, we meticulously examined and refined the inoculation procedures from strain 2 to the fermentation vessel. This systematic optimization significantly enhanced the optical density (OD) values, particularly after refining the carbon and nitrogen source components. The optimized conditions resulted in a remarkable 8.6-fold increase in OD values when compared to the control group.

Fig. 2. OD data of strain 2 before and after optimization.

Case Study 2: Exploring the impact of lactic acid bacteria on cereal fermentation for non-dairy products.

The surge in demand for non-dairy options has prompted manufacturers to explore cereal-based, non-alcoholic fermented products. Unlike dairy fermentation, there's no standardized starter culture for cereals, leading many to adapt traditional lactic acid bacteria (LAB) dairy starters for large-scale cereal fermentation. Despite this, the effects of LAB on cereal fermentation are not well understood. This study utilized multiple analytical methods to investigate the impact of 16 LAB strains on rice, oat, and wheat flour fermentation. Researchers assessed culture growth, pH changes, and alterations in reducing sugars, starch, free proteins, and phenolic compounds. Additionally, researchers characterized the sensory and textural qualities of the fermented cereals and evaluated their functional properties, including antioxidant activity and ACE-inhibitory potential.

Fig. 3. Changes in the dynamic viscosity of cereal flours after 24 h of fermentation with the studied LAB strains. (Moiseenko, et al., 2024)

FAQs

References:

1. Siddiqui SA.; et al. An overview of fermentation in the food industry - looking back from a new perspective. Bioresour Bioprocess. 2023;10(1):85.
2. Moiseenko KV.; et al. Fermentation of Rice, Oat, and Wheat Flour by Pure Cultures of Common Starter Lactic Acid Bacteria: Growth Dynamics, Sensory Evaluation, and Functional Properties. Foods. 2024;13(15):2414.

• Probiotic Raw Material Fermentation Service
• Food-grade Strains Fermentation Service
• Probiotic Product Formulation Optimization Service