PRAKTIKUM MIKROBIOLOGI (SCBI603402) 1

FITRIA NINGSIH, M.Eng.

Beneficial effects
Food is fermented or otherwise chemically changed by the addition of
microbes or microbial products to alter or improve flavor, taste, or texture.
Microbes can serve as food.
Detrimental effects
Food poisoning or food-borne illness.
Food spoilage  Growth of microbes makes food unfit for consumption; adds
undesirable flavors, appearance, and smell; destroys food value.
Neutral effects
The presence or growth of microbes that do not cause disease or change the
nature of the food.
2
 Culinary procedures deliberately add microorganisms and encourage them
to grow. These reactions actively encourage biochemical activities that
impart a particular taste, smell, or appearance to food.
 Historically, food fermentation was performed as a method of preservation,
as the generation of antimicrobial metabolites (e.g., organic acids, ethanol
and bacteriocins) reduces the risk of contamination with pathogenic
microorganisms.
 Fermentation is also used to enhance the organoleptic properties (e.g.,
taste and texture), with some foods, such as olives, being inedible without
fermentation that removes bitter phenolic compounds.
 Fermented foods are defined as “foods or beverages produced through
controlled microbial growth, and the conversion of food components
through enzymatic action”.
3
1. Foods can be fermented naturally, often referred to as “wild ferments” or
“spontaneous ferments”, whereby the microorganisms are present
naturally in the raw food or processing environment. Examples: sauerkraut,
kimchi, and certain fermented soy.
2. Foods can be fermented via the addition of starter cultures, known as
“culture-dependent ferments”. Examples: kefir, kombucha and natto.
 One method of performing a culture-dependent ferment is
“backslopping”, in which a small amount of a previously fermented batch
is added to the raw food, for example sourdough bread.
 Starters used to initiate fermentation can be either natural (e.g.,
backslopping), or selected commercial starters to standardize the
organoleptic characteristics of the final product.

4
 Why microorganism?  Easy to culture, fast growth, variety of
substrates, diversity or variety of products, easy to manipulate. Should
be categorized as GRAS.
 Inoculum: substance or cell culture that is introduced to the medium,
then conducting metabolism (considerations: age, concentration,
viability, and morphology).
 Starter cultures: can provide particular characteristics in a more
controlled and predictable fermentation.
Other functions of starter cultures:
 Flavour, aroma, and alcohol production
 Proteolytic and lipolytic activities
 Inhibition of undesirable organisms 5
 Food category/Preservative Primary fermenting microorganisms
Dairy foods/lactic acid, propionic acid
Cheeses Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus
thermophilus, Propionibacterium (Swiss cheese)
Fermented milk
Buttermilk and sour cream Lactococcus
Yogurt Lactobacillus, Streptococcus thermophilus
Alcoholic beverages/Ethanol Zymomonas, Saccharomyces
Yeasts breads/Baking Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Meat products/Lactic and other acids
Dry sausages (pepperoni, salami) and semidry sausages Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus
(summer sausage, bologna)
Vegetables/Lactic acid
Cabbage (sauerkraut) Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus
Cucumbers (pickles) Lactic acid bacteria
Vinegar/Acetic acid Acetobacter
Soy sauce/Lactic acid and many other substances Aspergillus, Tetragenococcus halophilus, yeasts 6
 Contain potentially probiotic microorganisms, such as lactic acid bacteria.
 Fermentation-derived metabolites may exert health benefits  Lactic acid bacteria
(relevant to both dairy and non-dairy fermented foods) generate bioactive peptides
and polyamines with potential effects on cardiovascular, immune and metabolic
health.
 Fermentation may convert certain compounds to biologically active metabolites 
Lactic acid bacteria can convert phenolic compounds (such as flavonoids) to
biologically active metabolites.
 Food components found in fermented foods, such as prebiotics and vitamins, may
also exert health benefits.
 Fermentation can reduce toxins and anti-nutrients  Fermentation of soybeans may
reduce phytic acid concentrations.

7
Benefit Raw material Fermented food

Preservation Milk Yoghurt, cheese

(Most materials)
Enhancement of safety
Acid production Fruit Vinegar
Acid and alcohol production Barley Beer
Grapes Wine
Production of bacteriocins Meat Salami
Removal of toxic components Cassava Gari, polviho azedo
Soybean Soy sauce
Enhancement of nutritional value
Improved digestibility Wheat Bread
Retention of micronutrients Leafy veges. Kimchi, sauerkraut
Increased fibre content Coconut Nata de coco
Synthesis of probiotic compounds Milk Bifidus milk, Yakult,
Acidophilus yoghurt
Improvement of flavour Coffee beans Coffee
8
Grapes Wine
Cheese – rennet (from the enzyme renin) is used to
coagulate milk, forming curds and whey.

Alcoholic beverages – glucose is fermented by yeast

enzymes.

Bread – enzymes within the flour break down starch,

eventually producing glucose. This is fermented by
enzymes present in yeast producing alcohol and
carbon dioxide.
9
Tempe – a very important source of protein in the Indonesian
diet and is essentially a fermented soybean by inoculation of
soybean cake with spores of the mold Rhizopous oligosporus or
Rhizopus oryzae

Soy sauce – sauce used frequently as a flavoring agent. During

soy sauce fermentation the proteinases, amylases and other
enzymes produced Aspergilus oryzae in the koji act upon the
mash.

Miso – fermented blend of rice, soybeans, sometimes barley, and

salt. A two stage fermentation is used: the first, an aerobic
fermentation is carried out by strains of Aspergillus oryzae; the
second, an anaerobic fermentation is carried out by the yeast
Saccharomyces rouxii. 10
Yoghurt – milk product fermented by two bacterial strains: a lactic acid
producing bacteria: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles.
Yogurt may provide potential health benefits by enhancing nutrient absorption
and digestion.

Kombucha – aerobic fermentation of black tea (green tea may also be used)
and white sugar by a combination of bacteria and yeast, known as the
symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). The bacterial and fungal
species constituting the SCOBY typically include acetic acid bacteria
(Acetobacter, Gluconobacter), lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus, Lactococcus)
and yeasts (Saccharomyces, Zygosaccharomyces).

Tape ketan – fermented glutinous rice, sweet tastes, slightly alcoholic, with a
pleasant, fragrant aroma. Microorganisms dominantly involved in the
fermentation are fungi Amylomyces rouxii, S. cerevisiae, Candida pelliculosa,
and bacteria from genera Bacillus and Acetobacter.
11