Lactic Acid Bacteria: Microbiological and Functional Aspects: Microbiological and Functional Aspects, Fourth Edition

While lactic acid-producing fermentation has long been used to improve the storability, palatability, and nutritive value of perishable foods, only recently have we begun to understand just why it works. Since the publication of the third edition of Lactic Acid Bacteria: Microbiological and Functional Aspects, substantial progress has been made in a number of areas of research. Completely updated, the Fourth Edition covers all the basic and applied aspects of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, from the gastrointestinal tract to the supermarket shelf.

Topics discussed in the new edition include:

• Revised taxonomy due to improved insights in genetics and new molecular biological techniques
• New discoveries related to the mechanisms of lactic acid bacterial metabolism and function
• An improved mechanistic understanding of probiotic functioning
• Applications in food and feed preparation
• Health properties of lactic acid bacteria
• The regulatory framework related to safety and efficacy

Maintaining the accessible style that made previous editions so popular, this book is ideal as an introduction to the field and as a handbook for microbiologists, food scientists, nutritionists, clinicians, and regulatory experts.

Seppo Salminen is a Professor and the Director of Functional Foods Forum at the University of Turku, Finland, and a visiting professor at the RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, and Universität für Bodenkultur, Vienna, Austria. He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters, and the editor or coeditor of several books. He has served in several scientific expert committees and working groups of the European Food Safety Authority and other international committees including ILSI Europe and International Dairy Federation. Professor Salminen received his M.S. degree (1978) in food science from Washington State University, Pullman, his M.Sc. degree (1979) in food chemistry and technology from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and his Ph.D. degree (1982) in biochemistry and toxicology from the University of Surrey, UK.

Professor Atte von Wright graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1975 and obtained his Ph.D. in microbiology in 1981 at the University of Sussex, UK. He has a professional background both in industry and academia with research interests spanning from food toxicology to molecular biology and safety aspects of lactic acid bacteria. Since 1998, Atte von Wright has been a Professor of Nutritional and Food Biotechnology at the University of Kuopio (since 2010, the University of Eastern Finland) in Finland. He has also served in many expert functions of the EU (a member of the Scientific Committee of Animal Nutrition, 1997–2003; a member of the EFSA Scientific Panel on additives and products or substances used in animal feed, 1996–2009; and a member of the EFSA Scientific Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms from 2009 onward). He has more than 120 original scientific publications and reviews in international refereed journals.

Dr. Sampo Lahtinen is a Health & Nutrition Group Manager at Danisco Health & Nutrition, Kantvik, Finland. He has a professional background both from industry and academia with a focus on probiotic and intestinal bacteria, prebiotics, and functional foods. He received his Ph.D. degree (2007) in Food Chemistry from the University of Turku, Finland, and was nominated in 2009 as an Adjunct Professor of Applied Microbiology of the University of Turku. He is the author of more than 50 journal articles and book chapters on probiotics and prebiotics.

Dr. Arthur Ouwehand is an R&D group manager at Danisco Health & Nutrition in Kantvik, Finland. He has a research background in both academia and industry. His main interest is on functional foods, in particular, probiotics and prebiotics and their influence on the intestinal microbiota. He is active in the International Life Sciences Institute Europe, the International Dairy Federation, and the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics. Dr. Ouwehand received his M.S. degree (1992) in cell biology from Wageningen University (the Netherlands) and his Ph.D. degree (1996) in microbiology from Göteborg University (Sweden). In 1999, he was appointed as an Adjunct Professor in Applied Microbiology at the University of Turku (Finland), and he is the author of more than 150 journal articles and book chapters.