Fermentation practices date back many Millenia but remain popular today. Many fermented foods are traditionally fermented by the naturally existing flora, while others have defined starter cultures. However, many food products fermented in traditional ways have an unknown microbial composition.
One study sought to determine the dominant strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in over 638 traditionally fermented food products from fermented dairy, meat, fruit, wine, flour bean, tea, and vegetable categories. The most abundant strain overall was L. plantarum, but dominant strains vary by food product type. Though traditional fermentation methods are still widely utilized, there is some controversy in not knowing the strains present in the food. For example, a recent article talks about how traditional fermented foods such as Kimchi and cheeses have been found to contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Dr. Hua Wang from Ohio State tested 10 types of kimchi and 4 artisanal cheeses and found 9/10 kimchi products and all 4 cheeses contained antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The article did not specify, but upon further inspection, multiple isolates with multidrug resistance were found (read more here). Even in carefully controlled settings, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are inevitable in kimchi due to the association of antibiotic-resistant bacteria with raw vegetable material. Though seemingly harmless, there’s potential risk of horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic-resistance. Additionally, immunocompromised or gut-dysbiotic people are more vulnerable if an opportunistic, antibiotic-resistant pathogen may be present.
Do you think there should be a requirement to analyze the composition of commercially sold products or utilize starter cultures of known composition?
Image Source: Korea JoongAng Daily