Quality, safety, biofunctionality and fermentation control in soya

Soya beans (Glycine max (L.)) are the most important source of plant-derived dietary protein, oil and biofnnctional components. In various publications, the spelling differs from soybean, soya bean, soya, soy, etc. In this chapter, we will keep to soya, except whoi specific mention is made of the beans to distinguish them from other parts of the plant. 

Soya is well known as a sonrce of human and animal nutrition (American Soybean Association, 2012a), as well as a raw material for industrial purposes. A range of commercial products is prepared from soya as the starting ingredient (American Soybean Association, 2012b). In this chapter, we will limit the focus to the significance of soya to the human diet and health. 

For food uses, soya derivatives are used as ingredients in a wide range of consumer foods. Examples are soya oil, lecithin, soya flour in bakery products, soya protein isolates, etc. This chapter will not deal with these ingredients, but rather focus on food products made by fermentation processes. 

The region of origin of soya fermentation is Asia, and in particular Southeast Asia and East Asia. It is not only the widespread use of soya that makes this region unique, but also the use of filamentous fungi in food preparation. Whereas in many other cultures, filamentous fungi (moulds) are associated with spoilage and even toxicity - caused by mycotoxins - the Asian household has discovered the capability of certain filamentous fungi to produce flavour and texture that form the basis of nutritious and savoury foods and condiments. In this chapter we will discover some of these wonderful products. 

A range of fermented soya food products is known (Chen et al., 2012), and Table 18.1 illustrates some important representatives that will be discussed in this chapter. There are several ways to distinguish fermented soya products, for example, by their consistency, their salt content or the type of microorganisms used for their fermentation. In Table 18.1, the prodncts are fisted according to consistency sauces are liquid, pastes are semi-solid and another gronp comprises solid or firm food products. The salt content depends very much on the manufacturing process. Salt has been used traditionally 

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Quality, safety, biofunctionality and fermentation control in soya... 

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