Microbiota and Metabolite Changes in Fermented Foods

Dear Colleagues,

Fermented products are among the most popular foodstuffs, being a vital part of many diets and dietary trends, worldwide. Their unique sensory characteristics, as well as the health benefits they confer to consumers, have caused the consumption of such products to exponentially increasing year after year. Fermentation process is the result of the metabolic and/or enzymatic activity of a specific fraction of microorganisms that prevail against the other indigenous microbiota and produce a variety of metabolic compounds that shape the sensorial attributes of the final products. Throughout fermentation, many changes take place regarding the microbial consortia and metabolic profile. The formation of a specific metabolic profile is strongly affected by several factors (e.g., raw materials, fermentation conditions, indigenous microbiota, potential use of starter cultures, etc.), which require deep investigation to be fully understood. Thus, studying the microbial community changes that occur and respective metabolites that are formed throughout the fermentation process (raw material, initial and middle stages, and final product) is of great interest. These studies allow us to obtain useful information about (i) the microbial fraction that prevails and leads the whole process, (ii) the metabolites that are produced during processing and how they change until the end of fermentation, (iii) how specific microorganisms are correlated with specific metabolites, and (iv) the impact on the final product.

Therefore, the present Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles assessing important aspects related to the microbiota and metabolites changes during fermentation (initial stage, middle stages, and final product) of several food and beverages (e.g., meat, seafood, dairies, alcoholic drinks, vegetables, etc.). On a general scale, studies dealing with (i) the relationship between the microbial communities and metabolites of fermented foods and beverages, (ii) the microbial and metabolic succession at different fermentation stages, and (iii) the relationship between microbiota and/or the metabolic profile with the formation of the sensorial attributes of the final product are very welcome.

Dr. Dimitrios A. Anagnostopoulos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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• fermented products
• fermentation stages
• microbiota
• metabolites
• sensorial attributes