Fermented foods, health and ISAPP

By Mary Ellen Sanders PhD, Executive Science Officer, ISAPP

It seems that fermented foods have ‘arrived’. Just within the community of ISAPP board members, fermented foods and their importance to health have been a topic of great interest. The idea that adding foods containing live microbes may be sound dietary advice has been reflected in many venues and formats, as seen here:

Bob Hutkins:
- Presented “Health benefits of fermented dairy foods: microbiota and beyond” at 5^th YINI Summit (Danone Institute) Fermented Foods and Health: The Intersection of Gut Microbiota and Fermentation Microbes on October 18, 2017.
- Will convene a discussion group at ISAPP 2018 in Singapore “Taking advantage of fermented foods for health.”
- Submitted a paper on counts of live microbes in fermented foods “A survey of live microorganisms in fermented foods”
- Along with lead author Maria Marco and others summarized a discussion group on fermented foods convened at the 2016 meeting of ISAPP in Turku, reflected in this popular Current Opinions in Biotechnology article, Health Benefits of fermented foods: microbiota and beyond.
Gregor Reid:
- Proposed that fermented foods should constitute a 5^th food group for Canadian dietary guidelines
- Published a 2015 paper Inclusion of fermented foods in food guides around the world
Mary Ellen Sanders
- On October 13, 2017, presented at a Springer-Nature/Yakult-sponsored Nature Café event in London on the topic “Is it time for live cultures to be included in official dietary recommendations?”
- Along with several co-authors, summarized a discussion group convened at the 2012 ISAPP meeting in New York in the 2014 paper Probiotics and prebiotics: prospects for public health and nutritional recommendations.
Seppo Salminen:
- Presented “Improving your diet with fermented foods: harmonizing of dietary guidelines including fermented milks” 5^th YINI Summit (Danone Institute) Fermented Foods and Health: The Intersection of Gut Microbiota and Fermentation Microbes on October 18, 2017.
- Along with co-author Mary Ellen Sanders and others published 2 papers that review the presence of live cultures or probiotics in national nutritional guidelines, including countries within the EU and beyond. Probiotics in dietary guidelines and clinical recommendations outside the European Union and Yoghurt and probiotic bacteria in dietary guidelines of the member states of the European Union.
ISAPP board of directors
- In 2015, published several comments to the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, presenting the scientific rational for fermented foods to be part of the US dietary guidelines. See here and here (and for a comment on prebiotic inclusion in dietary guidelines, see here)
- Oversaw the ISAPP Science Translation committee, which published a consumer-friendly infographic and related materials on Fermented Foods.