Human-Directed Fermentation as a Factor Securing Stable Quality of Sauerkraut

Abstract

Introduction: Introduction: Food safety is an absolute priority for both producers and consumers. It is obvious that the issues of safety, sanitation, quality and consistency apply to all processed products, not only to fermented ones. However, the industry of fermented foods is unique: it is the industry where a product success depends, inter alia, on the growth and activity of microorganisms. Today, there is a need to summarize knowledge about the factors that affect the development of the target microflora of fermented plant objects and, as a result, to obtain a quality product that has an undoubted biological and nutritional value with minimal losses during its production. Objectives: Our goal was to generalize factors affecting the development of the target microflora, the quality of fermented vegetable products, and microbial spoilage during storage. Results: The article discusses basic principles of vegetable fermentation from the microbiological and biochemical points of view. Under the influence of dynamically changing conditions in the process of fermentation of plant raw materials, there occurs a complex species change of microorganisms involved in this process. The most important group of microorganisms includes lactic acid bacteria used in fermentation of vegetables for manufacturing products that are more stable during storage. Conclusions: Fermentation is an affordable and energy-saving method of vegetable processing. It helps increase food safety by reducing the risk of growth of pathogenic microorganisms to infectious or toxicogenic levels. The researchers studying fermentation of plant raw materials and creating starter cultures for this process are faced with the task of improving the quality and reducing spoilage of fermented vegetables. This can be achieved by organizing a human-directed fermentation process using a combination of biological, chemical, and physical factors.