Locally fermented foods in Nigeria and their significance to national economy: a Review

Abstract

Locally fermented foods are produced by the activities of microorganisms, which while forming only a small proportion of the total weight of the foods, have profound effects on the character of the food. Locally fermented foods in Nigeria are grouped into tubers (e.g. gari, and fufu), cereals (e.g. ogi and pito), legumes (e.g. dawadawa and iru), milk (e.g. local cheeses) and beverages (e.g. palm wine). The mechanism of fermentation is biochemical and it involves lactic acid fermentation to yield products such as organic acids, alcohols, aldehydes and ketones. Some species of microorganisms involved in fermentation are Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Penicillium and Saccharomyces. Locally fermented foods are significant in provision of employment opportunities, market improvement, availability of food supplement and poverty alleviation. Some advantages of locally fermented foods are enhancement of organoleptic and preservative properties, provision of nutritional quality, detoxification and production of antibiotics. However, they contribute to food spoilage and health defects. Some factors influencing production of locally fermented foods are temperature, water activity, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), oxygen availability and substrate used for food fermentation process.