Microbial Fermentation in Food: Impact on Functional Properties and Nutritional Enhancement—A Review of Recent Developments

Summary

This narrative review consolidates recent advancements in microbial fermentation of foods, examining how beneficial microorganisms biotransform raw substrates to enhance nutritional and functional properties. The authors integrate evidence from traditional fermentation practices and modern biotechnological approaches, addressing key mechanisms including improved bioavailability, bioactive compound synthesis, and anti-nutritional factor reduction. The review acknowledges both opportunities for sustainable food production and practical challenges around safety, contamination control, and industrial scalability.

Regional applicability

The findings are relevant to UK food manufacturing and policy, particularly for traditional fermented foods (e.g. kefir, tempeh, miso) and emerging functional food development. However, direct applicability depends on alignment with UK food safety standards (FSA/FSMA), labelling regulations, and consumer acceptance of fermented products.

Key measures

Nutrient bioavailability; synthesis of bioactive compounds; reduction of anti-nutritional factors; sensory attributes; microbiological safety parameters; scaling feasibility for industrial applications; bioactive compound concentrations; anti-nutritional factor levels; functional properties of fermented foods

Outcomes reported

The review synthesised evidence on how microbial fermentation transforms food components to improve nutrient bioavailability, reduce anti-nutritional factors, and create bioactive compounds with potential disease prevention benefits. It also documented safety challenges including microbiological hazards and strategies for risk management in fermentation processes, and examined scaling challenges for industrial application.

Topic tags