Molds have been used for thousands of years to process foods through fermentation. This document discusses how various mold-fermented foods like miso, tempeh, and salami are produced using different mold species. Molds are able to improve the nutrition, flavor, texture and shelf life of foods through fermentation. They also produce enzymes, vitamins and other food ingredients. However, molds can also cause spoilage of foods if not properly controlled, resulting in major economic losses globally from wasted food production. Microbiology and use of molds has potential to further enhance food security, nutrition and development of novel flavors.

1. Molds and Food Industry
A Summary by S.Thiruchenduran (FST/2014-018), Dept of Food
and Nutrition, PGRC, Faculty of Home Sciences, ANGRAU

2. Milking the Molds
• Started Thousands of years ago.
• One of the first methods to process food.
• “Fermentation were discovered accidentally when salt
was incorporated with the food material, and the salt
selected certain harmless microorganisms that
fermented the product to give a nutritious and
acceptable food. “Wang and Hesseltine (1979)
• Process control – Naturally occurred. (No Food
Technologists)

3. Mold Processing of Food
1. More digestible products
2. Improve flavor(meat like) and texture, appearance and
aroma.
3. Synthesize vitamins (including B-12)
4. Destroy or mask undesirable or bean flavors
5. Reduce or eliminate carbohydrates believed to cause
flatulence.
6. Decrease the required cooking time.
7. Increase storage life
8. Transform what might otherwise be agricultural wastes (such
as okara) into tasty and nutritious human foods (such as
okara tempeh),
9. Replenish intestinal microflora (as with miso or Acidophilus

4. Products
• Foods
• Enzymes
• Ingredients
• Supplements
• Herbal Medicines

5. Foods
• Shoyu – Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae.
– Proteolytic digestion by Glutaminase enzyme
• L.glutamine + Glutaminase  glutamate + Amonium
– Umami taste given by Glutamates
• MSG(Ajinamoto) taste or Mother’s milk
taste(addiction)
• Success behind every fast food (you name it) and snacks
– Vit B12
– Production Process -
http://youtu.be/I0210b6Os4I

6. Shoyu

7. Other Mold Fermented Food Products
• Miso 
– Soybeans
– Aspergillus oryzae
• Tempeh 
– Soy cheese
– Rhizophus oligosporous

8. Other Mold Fermented Food Products
• Oncom
– Pea nuts
– Neurospora sitophila
• Red Yeast Rice
– Rice
– Monascus purpureus

9. Other Mold Fermented Food Products
• Salami
– Any meat
– Penicillium spp
• Roquefort cheese
– Cheese
– Penicillium roqueforti

10. Quorn
• Myco protein (A Meat without Slaughter)
• Fusarium venenatum
Hence Mold processing gives Delicious and Luxury foods

11. Enzymes
• Amylase – Rhizopus delemar, Mucor rouxii
– Clear starch from fruit syrups
– Clear turbidity in wine
– Starch to sweet syrup
• Pectinase – Aspergillus, Penicillium
– clarify wines, syrups, vinegar
• Proteases – Aspergillus oryzae
– Fish oil from fish liver, dough consistancy
• Cellolase - Tricoderma reesei
– Removal of fiber from fruit juice

12. Other Products
• Ingredients - Citric acid
• Suplements – Vitamine B2, B12
• Herbal Medicine – many but
– Cordyceps – Tibet, Nepal, China, Japan, Bhutan
and Thailand. – Delay on set of aging
• 1 kg is 600,000 INR
• 1 g m(g)old is 591Rs !!!!!!!!
• During summer harvest is done in Himalayas.

13. Cordyceps sinensis

14. Is it all good? What about
the bad side of mold

15. Mold Spoilage of Food
• Fruits
• Grains
• Vegetables

16. Economic Loss
1.3
2.6
Food Consumption
Molds
Human
1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year.
One third of the total food production.

17. Calculations
1.3 billion tons of food
• Telangana (35 million ppl)
– 185 yrs
– 200kg food per Indian per year
• 1,300,000million kg/35 million ppl= 37,143kg
• Total India (1.3 billion 2014)
– 5yrs
• Total world (7.046 billion)
– 1 yr

18. • “Microbiology is the Future of Food” ~ Prof.
Roberto Kolter, Dept Of Microbiology,
Harvard University
Novel Flavors (Science and Art)
Nutrition Security (Vitamins, AA)
Food Security (Reduce post Harvest
loss, SCP)

19. THANK YOU
Have a Nice Day