The Hindu Business Line : Fermented food is recipe for good health: Researcher

THE process of fermentation offers itself as a profitable method of food preservation since it easily satisfies a large number of criteria that can normally be applied to eminently feasible methods of food processing.

According to Dr Baboo Nair, Faculty, Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, University of Lund, Sweden, fermentation has proved to be an environment-friendly process too. It consumes less energy, produces less waste and is easy to manage under household conditions as well as on an industrial scale.

"It is a typical example of bio-diversity put into efficient use, and could be applied to a wide variety of raw materials to produce a variety of finished food products," Dr Nair told Business Line.

Fermentation is an ancient preparation and preservation technique where carbohydrates and proteins are broken down by micro-organisms such as bacteria, yeasts and moulds. (`Idli' and `dosa' are among the most common examples of fermented delicacies in India.)

Beneficial to overall health, some of these "functional foods" are now considered to be "probiotics" that bring about an improvement in overall nutrition, promote the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria, aid digestion and support immune function.

They also bring about an increase in B vitamins (even Vitamin B12), omega-3 fatty acids, digestive enzymes, lactase and lactic acid, and other immune chemicals that fight off harmful bacteria and even cancer cells.

Fermentation also has the advantage of being `generally regarded as safe' and, at the same time, offers immense opportunity for manufacturing products that can be classified as organic foods, natural foods, health foods, convenience foods, ethnic foods, neutraceuticals, functional foods and food for clinical nutrition.

Fermented foods are manufactured and consumed in practically every part of the world. "At any given time, cereals, pulses, root crops, vegetables, fruits, meat and fish are preserved by one or other method of fermentation in some part of the world," he said.

Traditional knowledge relating to preparation of fermented foods has been recognised to be of immense value to future generations by Food and Agricultural Organisation, World Health Organisation and a number of other related agencies.

The demand for fermented foods is enormous and growing fast by the date. No wonder the health-friendly features of fermented foods are a matter of great attention among researchers, medical practitioners, food companies and marketing agencies, Dr Nair said.

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