Dynamics of the microbial community responsible for traditional sour cassava starch fermentation studied by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative rRNA hybridization.

The microbial community developing during the spontaneous fermentation of sour cassava starch was investigated by cultivation-independent methods. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of partially amplified 16S rDNA followed by sequencing of the most intense bands showed that the dominant organisms were all lactic acid bacteria (LAB), mainly close relatives of Bifidobacterium minimum, Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus sp., Enterococcus saccharolyticus and Lactobacillus plantarum., Close relatives of Lb. panis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Ln. citreum were also found. A complementary analysis using hybridization of 16S rRNA with phylogenetic probes was necessary to detect the presence of the recently discovered species Lb. manihotivorans. Although it represented up to 13% of the total lactic acid bacteria of sour cassava starch, this species could not be detected by DGGE as the PCR product migrated to the same position as Lc. lactis. In addition, it was shown that a strong pH decrease in the time course of fermentation was most probably responsible for the competitive selection of acid-resistant LAB vs. both homo and heterofermentative acid-sensitive LAB.

Kinetics of continuous starch hydrolysis in a membrane reactor.

Following a previous study on kinetics of enzymatic starch hydrolysis with Termamyl 120l (Novo Nordisk) in batch reactor, this paper deals with kinetics in a continuous recycled membrane reactor (CRMR). Starting from results obtained in various working conditions, an equation relating the production rates of small oligosaccharides (DP ranging from 1 to 5) to the sum of concentrations of oligosaccharides with a higher degree of polymerisation is proposed. This equation looks like the one already reported for a batch system, with the exception that in the CRMR the enzyme activity varies: an exponential decay of activity as a function of time must be introduced to smooth carefully data points.

Formulation of a cured meat product by the dewatering-impregnation soaking (DIS) process: Mass transfer study and assessment of product quality.

Venison muscle meats were simultaneously salted and dried by soaking in a mixed concentrated solution (salt/corn starch syrup) at a low temperature, a process known as dewatering and impregnation soaking (DIS). Cured products of suitable market quality (in terms of their salt and water content) were obtained with this process. The impregnation of standard curing additives (nitrites and polyphosphates) into the meat product was controlled by mixing these compounds in the concentrated solution. Also, beneficial effects of additives on the physicochemical, microbiological and organoleptic characteristics of the product are confirmed. The present study highlights the choice of DIS process and proposed optimal DIS conditions for formulating cured products.

Optimizing the traditional processing of beef into Kilishi.

Kilishi, a meat-based traditional product of Sahelian Africa, is a sun-dried, coated and grilled beef. The effect of moisture content of the dried meat before coating and sauce ingredients, on coating quality and product yield of kilishi were determined. Analysis of the losses after the coating and grilling stages highlighted the mechanisms that determine coating quality. To improve sauce adhesion to the dried meat, wheatflour was added to the traditional sauce (a mixture of groundnut paste, water, and spices). The amounts of water and wheat flour required to ensure that the sauce adhered to the meat well were also determined. This has optimized the kilishi processing to improve product yield.

Kinetics of cassava starch hydrolysis with Termamyl(R) enzyme.

Kinetic properties of Termamyl(R) 120L were investigated with respect to starch hydrolysis in a batch reactor at substrate concentrations of 50-270 g. dm(-3) and enzyme concentrations of 0. 17-1 cm(3). dm(-3) (i.e., cm(3) of Novo Nordisk enzymatic solution per dm(3) of raw cassava starch suspension). A general kinetic expression giving product concentration as a function of time was first developed; an equation relating the reaction rate of each product to the sum of the concentrations of oligosaccharides with a higher degree of polymerisation was then derived. The empirical model satisfactorily fits experimental data for oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization ranging from 1 to 7.