Fermented Foods: Microbial Transformations and Health Benefits

This lecture delves into the microbial transformations and health benefits of fermented foods, showcasing how shotgun metagenomics and metataxonomics have been applied to profile microbial community metabolic functions in various Asian fermented foods. The presentation explores the potential of fermented foods as delivery vehicles for probiotics to underserved communities, emphasizing the importance of controlled fermentations in improving food safety and nutritional quality. The instructor discusses the critical health challenges in underserved communities, such as diarrhea, and highlights the role of probiotics in reducing gastrointestinal infections risk. The lecture also covers the sustainable food processing inspired by nature, focusing on the remarkable similarities in the microbiomes of fermented foods and beverages, even at the species level.