Advances in starter culture technology focus on drying processes

In the production of fermented food, starter cultures are used to prevent fermentation failure and to ensure high-product quality. Starter cultures are cultures with well-defined properties that ensure a fast, safe, and defined fermentation and lead to fermented food products with high and constant product quality. The use of defined starter cultures is state-of-the-art in the dairy industry, and replaces traditional procedures in the production of meat and bakery products and other fermented commodities. Starter cultures are mostly produced by specialized companies that distribute the cultures worldwide, and are being used increasingly in concentrated forms for direct inoculation into the food matrix (direct-to-vat-set cultures, DVS Hansen, 2002). 

Gentle and energy-saving preservation processes ensuring high vitality and metabolic activity are decisive for effective production and distribution of starter cultures. Therefore, the preservation technology has to reach four targets  

Viability. The number of viable cells must be maximal after preservation, as each loss in viable cell numbers means a higher number of expensive and energy-intensive fermentation batches. 

Storage stability. The third important quality attribute is the storage stability. As the cultures are distributed worldwide, they must withstand adverse conditions during transport. Furthermore, they must retain their viability and vitality during storage, preferably at ambient temperatures (nonrefrigerated). 

Handling. Depending on the preservation technology, the handling of the cell concentration must be easy and, in case of a powder, the rehydration must be fast. The powder should not be prone to caking and should be easy to allot. 

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Advances in starter culture technology focus on drying processes... 

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