Microbiological Food Safety in Fermented Foods

众所周知，发酵食品对健康有益，但在加拿大，可供消费的发酵食品种类一直不足。最近，一家致力于生产新型发酵食品的小型企业在世界各地引起了热烈反响。然而，这些产品中所含微生物的特性往往不能很好地表征。我们将使用传统的微生物培养和DNA测序来鉴定在伦敦生产康普茶和其他发酵食品的微生物。重要的是，我们将研究这些微生物在味道、质地和生产因素中所起的作用，比如已知在新陈代谢中起作用的短链脂肪酸。这些研究将促进我们对微生物如何在我们的食品供应中发挥作用的理解，并为加拿大这个自然资源丰富的国家建立新的微型企业奠定基础。

Fermented foods have long been known to confer health benefits, yet in Canada there has been a deficit in the types that areavailable for consumption. The recent creation of small business dedicated to making novel fermented food options, has been metwith excitement in different parts of the world. However, the identity of the microbes contained in these products is often not wellcharacterized. We will use traditional microbial culture and DNA sequencing to identify the organisms producing kombucha andother fermented foods here in London, ON. Importantly, we will investigate the role played by these microbes in taste, texture andproduction of factors, such as short chain fatty acids known to play a role in metabolism. These studies will advance ourunderstanding of how microbes in our food supply work, and substantiate the basis for new micro-enterprises in Canada, a countryrich in natural resources.