Biotecnologie dei microrganismi: uno sguardo alle tecniche microbiche applicate agli alimenti

Nutrition represents one of the widest and oldest microbial biotechnologies application fields. The spontaneous transformation of raw materials by microorganisms generally found in the environment, with preservation purposes, came even before cooking food. Even today a lot of common food products are preserved, produced or enhanced through the direct action of microorganisms. Microbial biotechnologies can be used in different ways, improving the potential application of food fermentation processes with preservation aims. The selection of starters is maybe the most significant example. In this article, after a brief view of such biotechnologies and the most relevant microorganisms used in this field, we'll focus on the most commonly used bacterial identification methods. Such techniques are also able to analyze the dynamic processes in which food microbiota is involved. Therefore, the focus is on the most perishable food products.