Microbial interactions in Philippine fermented foods

Sanchez, P.C. . Inst. of Food Science and Technology

Microbial interactions in Philippine fermented foods

Sanchez, P.C. (Philippines Univ., Los Banos, College, Laguna (Philippines). Inst. of Food Science and Technology)

Many Philippine fermented foods are still manufactured according to traditional, technologically backward methods (with a few exceptions) using simple equipment and produce on a small industrial scale or just at home scale. Studies on these foods resulted in the identification of predominant microorganisms responsible for the quality of the particular product. The activities of these microbes alter the flavor and aroma of that food chemically altering the constituents of the raw materials to produce new or additional flavor compounds. Fermented products were classified into three groups as follows: 1) products resulting from bacterial action (kesong puti [white soft cheese], burong mustasa [fermented mustard leaves], burong isda [fermented rice-fish mixture], balao-balao [fermented rice-shrimp mixture], bagoong and patis [fish paste and fish sauce], suka [vinegar] and nata [cellulosic pellicle]); 2) products derived from the association of bacteria and yeast (tuba [coconut sap wine], basi [sugarcane wine], and puto [fermented rice cake]); and 3) products from combined action between molds, yeasts and bacteria (tapuy [rice wine] and toyo [soy sauce]). The fermentation pattern in the first group is either sequential activities of lactic acid bacteria, a simultaneous protolytic activity and production of organic acids, or pellicle formation through metabolic action on the substrate. The second group concerns with the microbial association of lactic acid bacteria and alcohol-producing yeasts while the third group acts first on the saccharification of the substrate then on the conversion of available nutrients to organic acids and ethanol, and finally the production of flavor compounds.

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