SCIENTIFICALLY-BASED APPROACHES TO THE PROCESS VEGETABLE FERMENTATION AND ADVANTAGES USE OF BACTERIAL STARTER CULTURES

Along with heat treatment, Smoking and drying in the sun, one of the oldest ways to preserve food is fermentation (fermentation). Fermented foods appeared long before people learned about the existence of microorganisms, and entered the traditional diet of almost all cultures. Currently, the production of salted, fermented and wetted products is an important segment of the food industry. The rate of reproduction of microorganisms in foods is affected by several factors including properties of the products (nutrient content, pH value, oxidation-reduction (redox) potential, water activity, etc.) and external factors, including storage conditions, such as temperature and relative humidity. Preservation of food products is usually based on the destruction of microorganisms or control of their reproduction and the overall composition of the microbiota. Reducing the rate or preventing microbiological spoilage of food is based on four main principles: minimization of product contamination by microorganisms; suppression of growth and reproduction of micro-organisms-contaminants; destruction of micro-organisms-contaminants; removal of micro-organisms-contaminants. Fermentation is based on a combination of the first three principles and is achieved by creating conditions for the growth of specific microorganisms that can give food the desired taste, aroma, texture and appearance. This review is devoted to the scientific aspects of vegetable fermentation, including the use of bacterial starter cultures. The characteristics of lactic acid microorganisms are given, the basic principles and advantages of the process of fermentation of vegetables and the biochemical processes taking place at the same time are given and described, the advantages of the use of bacterial starter cultures (strains of lactic acid microorganisms) for the purpose of improving the quality of the finished product are described.