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Editorial: Enhancing nutrient profile, safety, and sustainability with fermentation technology

Summary

Fermentation is an ancient food preparation method that science is rediscovering as a powerful tool for making foods more nutritious and safer to eat. By using specific bacteria and fungi to ferment various foods like soybeans, grains, and vegetables, researchers have found that fermentation increases the availability of vitamins and minerals our bodies can absorb, reduces harmful compounds in foods, and helps preserve them naturally. This technology also offers sustainable solutions by making use of overlooked crops and reducing food waste, all while potentially lowering salt content in traditionally salty foods.

Background

The global food system faces challenges in meeting nutritional requirements of a growing population while ensuring sustainability and food security. Fermentation is an ancient metabolic process that has evolved with modern technology to enhance bioavailability, digestibility, and nutritional values of foods while reducing antinutritive constituents and toxic compounds.

Objective

This editorial presents nine innovative studies exploring different applications of fermentation across diverse food products to enhance nutrient composition, improve food safety, and provide sustainable food sources. The Research Topic synthesizes findings on how fermentation technology can address global challenges of food security, malnutrition, and environmental sustainability.

Results

Studies demonstrated that fermentation improves nutritional profiles through enhanced bioavailability and bioactive compound synthesis, reduces antinutritional factors like phytate, increases antioxidant capacities, improves functional properties, and contributes to food safety through bio-preservative compound production. Fermentation also shows potential in addressing food waste and sustainability by valorizing underutilized agricultural products.

Conclusion

Fermentation technology demonstrates versatility in enhancing nutrient profiles, improving food safety, and promoting sustainability across diverse food systems. Future research should focus on novel microbial strains, scalability investigations, and sustainable integration strategies to meet the nutritional and sustainability needs of growing global populations.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Nutrition,
  • Study Type:Editorial/Review,
  • Source: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1571781, PMID: 40070481
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