Syanda Mbatha
Microbiologists have a huge role to play to convince the world out there that other than being infectious, bacteria are important components in our microbiomes and the Earth cannot exist without them. They are important in aspects of food ,agriculture, medicine, metabolic process, biotechnological applications, pharmaceuticals and so on. Here we look the importance of bacteria in the aspects fermenting food.
Kombucha is a fermented and sweetened black tea drink. It originated in China, where the drink is traditional. It is fermented using juice, spices, fruit and bacteria. Kombucha tea possess probiotic characteristics so it have health benefits.
Acetic acid bacteria are one of the most common wine spoilage microorganisms and a threat for the oenologists. They have ability to transform most of the sugars and alcohols into organic acids. Sugar is added at 5% to 15%, then the tea brew for approximately 10 minutes and the tea leaves are removed. Tea is cooled to room temperature and approximately 10% of fresh-fermented kombucha containing the microbial mat from a previous batch is added to the sweetened tea.
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The bacterium involved in the fermentation of Kombucha is acetic acid bacteria. This is a strictly aerobic organism, a gram negative bacteria meaning it possess thin peptidoglycan. Acetic acid bacteria is rod-shaped cells that can occur singly, in pairs or chains, its rod shape means it have good surface to volume ratio which is advantageous for greater access of nutrients .It is also motile and is non-spore forming so it cannot cause infectious diarrhea, allergies but it have health benefits.
In general, the beneficial effects of LAB on the human food chain seem to outweigh the potential risks associated with their consumption as part of animal and human diets. However, further studies and continuous monitorization efforts are needed to ensure their safe application in animal products and in the control of pathogenic microorganisms, preventing the possible risks associated with antibiotic resistance and, thus, protecting public health.
This chapter describes the importance of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) and their products in terms of food safety. It outlines health benefits of acetic
