Fundamental Food Microbiology, Third Edition - Fuad Fathir

CONTENTS
173
CHAPTER 13
Starter Cultures and Bacteriophages
I. Introduction ..............................................................................................173
II. History ......................................................................................................174
III. Concentrated Cultures ..............................................................................175
IV. Starter-Culture Problems ..........................................................................177
A. Strain Antagonism ............................................................................177
B. Loss of a Desired Trait ....................................................................177
C. Cell Death and Injury ......................................................................177
D. Inhibitors in Raw Materials .............................................................177
E. Bacteriophages of Lactic Acid Bacteria ..........................................178
1. Morphology and Characteristics ................................................178
2. Life Cycle ...................................................................................178
3. Host Specificity ..........................................................................179
4. Control Methods ........................................................................180
V. Yeast and Mold Cultures ..........................................................................180
VI. Conclusion ................................................................................................180
References ............................................................................................................181
Questions ..............................................................................................................181
I. INTRODUCTION
Starter culture is a generic term and has changed its meaning over the years.
Currently, it means a selected strain of food-grade microorganisms of known and
stable metabolic activities and other characteristics that is used to produce fermented
foods of desirable appearance, body, texture, and flavor. 1 Some starter cultures are
also used to produce food additives, as probiotics, and for drug delivery. Toward the
end of the 19th century, the term meant inoculating a small amount of fermented
(sour) cream or milk (starter) to fresh cream or milk to start fermentation in the