SOY SAUCE PRODUCTION

Indah Riwayati
Prodi Teknik Kimia Unwahas
2012
 Soy sauce

• Soy sauce is the most popular flavoring used in

Japanese and other oriental cooking
•Japanese consumption being very high (estimated
to be 10L/head of population per year)
• The product is well known to consumers in the
West as a condiment for addition to Chinese foods
 Soy Sauce

• The product contains a high salt

concentration so that consumption of large
amounts can lead to high blood pressure and
associated health problems
• Recently, steps have been taken to produce
soy sauce with a lower salt content
• Originally, soy sauce fermentation was
carried out on a small scale in households,
today much of it is manufactured on large
scale using highly mechanized processes
 Manufacture of Soy Sauce

Koji Prepared from a mixture of cooked

soybean and roasted wheat

Koji is mixed with brine to give a

Mix with Brine salt concentration of 16-19oC
and produce a mash (moromi)

Transfer to deep This produces necessary

fermentation tanks conditions for an anaerobic
fermentation to take place
 Manufacture of Soy Sauce

During fermentation, which takes 6-8

months or longer, koji mold enzymes
Fermentation continue to breakdown starch and
protein. Sugars are converted by
lactic acid bacteria and yeasts to
lactic acid and alcohol. Flavoring
constituents are formed
Pressing & Refining

At 70-80oC destroys any organisms

Pasteurize remaining in the soy sauce,
preventing any further fermentation

Bottle
Koikuchi Shoyu PFD

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 Koji Process

• The process converts a substrate that is

unavailable to lactic acid bacteria and yeasts
into a material that can be used by these
organisms in further fermentations
• ‘Koji’ production is used as the foundation for
the manufacture of a number of products,
including soy sauces, miso and rice wine
(sake)
 Koikuchi Koji Overview

1. Cooked soybeans and roasted wheat at

50/50 conc. (40% moisture content)
2. Inoculated with Aspergillus Sojae/Oryzae
3. Incubation within the perforated vats
4. Salt solution is added

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 Aspergillus Sojae/Oryzae
• Release enzymes to digest material
• Material is absorbed by hyphae
• Types of Enzyme produced during Koji
Fermentation
– Amylolytic, Proteolytic, Peptidolytic, and
Lypolytic enzymes
• Reproduces by sporulation
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 Purpose of Koji Fermination

1. Maximize enzyme production

2. Prevent denaturation of the enzymes
3. Avoid the presence of undesirable micro-
organisms
4. Minimize the utilisation of nutrients by the
Koji molds
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Koji Vats Perspective
 Koji Process

Raw Materials Soybeans, wheat, barley, rice

Cooking reduces the number of

contaminants in the raw material and
Cook introduces the necessary moisture
required for mold growth. Proteins are
denatured and starches made more
soluble so that they can be digested by
the mold

Inoculate with
Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae
 Koji Process

Incubate at 25-30oC

The inoculated substrate is packed into

shallow trays or baskets and aerated for 2-3
days with temperature and moisture controlled
air. The mold grows throughout the substrate
breaking down starch, protein and other
materials into soluble products

Koji containing sugars and

Koji
amino acids is used for further
fermentation by lactic acid
bacteria and yeasts
BRINE FERMENTATION

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 Brine solution

• 20-24% NaCl

• To kill off Apergillus Oryzae/Sojae fungi and its

spores

• Adds a salty taste

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 Brine Fermentation

• 5 months ~ 6 months
• Take place in a fermentor
• Fermentor properties
– 10, 000 Liters
– Closed tank reactor
– Atmosphere Pressure
– Varied temperature (15 – 28 °C)

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 Brine Fermentation
• Fermentor

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 Brine Fermentation
 3 Stages in Brine Fermentation

1. Protein and starch hydrolysis

2. Culture of lactic acid bacteria and pH
reduction
3. Growth of yeasts and alcohol
fermentation

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 Brine Fermentation Stage 1.
• Protein and Starch Hydrolysis

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 Brine Fermentation Stage 2.
• Culture of Lactic Acid Bacteria and pH Reduction
– Pediococcus bacteria
 Growing in a 24% salt solution, T = 15 °C
 Anaerobic
– Initial pH value: 6.5 – 7.0

C6H12O6 CH3CHOHCOOH + C2H5OH + CO2

Glucose Pediococcus Lactic acid Ethanol
Carbon

dioxide
– Final pH value : ~ 5.0

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 Brine Fermentation Stage 3.
• Growth of Yeasts and Alcohol Fermentation
– Saccharomyces rouxii
• Growing in a 24% salt solution, T = 15 °C
• Anaerobic
– Reactions (T = 28 °C)

Amino acid S. rouxii Alcohol + Water

Maillard reaction:
Amino acid + Glucose S. rouxii HEMF

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 Microbiology of the Fermentation

• Salting the Koji helps to prevent further

mold growth and produces ideal conditions
for growth of organisms active in the
fermentation
• Mold enzymes continue to digest the
substrate and release nutrients for the
growth of lactic acid bacteria and yeast
 Microbiology of the Fermentation

• The fermentation follows a succession

starting with Pediococcus halophilus
• This organism produces lactic acid causing
the pH to drop from 6.5-7.0 to 4.8-5.0
• These conditions favor the growth of
Saccharomyces rouxii, an osmophilic yeast,
that carries out an alcoholic fermentation
 Microbiology of the Fermentation

• The yeast Torulopsis spp., also an alcohol

producer, finally dominates the fermentation
process
• The final product has a pH of 4.7-4.9, a salt
concentration of about 16% and contains a
wide variety of flavoring components
• About 300 flavoring cmpds have been
identified in soy sauce
 Microbiology of the Fermentation

• Flavoring cmpds in soy sauce includes

carbonyls, organic acids, esters, alcohols
(including aromatic alcohols), acetals,
sulphur and nitrogenous cmpds
• The product is highly stable and not subject
to microbial spoilage or the growth of
pathogens
• Attempts to isolate mycotoxins from these
products have proved negative