Fresh plant matrices of food interest host complex microbial communities. Within these microbial ecosystems, biochemical and ecological interactions are relevant in contributing to food quality and safety. In particular, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play key roles in fermentative processes, bioprotection, and bioactivity. Despite their well-recognised importance in food biotechnology, the ecological dynamics and metabolic versatility of LAB in plant-based environments are still poorly explored. Understanding their diversity and how they adapt to matrix-specific stressors is crucial for identifying new strains with distinctive technological and biofunctional traits. This review summarises a selection of recent studies on LAB associated with fresh plant-derived matrices (i.e., fresh fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers). Particular attention is given to culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches employed for their identification. The main technological and functional aspects are also examined, aiming to assess their properties of interest, including resistance to adverse environmental conditions and mechanisms of microbial interaction. Furthermore, the discussion addresses the main biotechnological applications of selected LAB, including the development of fermented plant-based foods and beverages, the design of probiotic cultures/biocontrol solutions, and the valorisation of plant by-products. To our knowledge, this is the first review to provide an integrated overview of genomic and ecological insights into LAB associated with fresh plant matrices. This approach would help to improve understanding of LAB adaptive dynamics and identify sustainable drivers of innovation in agro-food systems.

The increasing generation of agro-industrial by-products from fruit processing represents both an environmental challenge and a valuable opportunity for resource recovery. In this study, tomato, apple, and orange by-products were selected as sustainable substrates for valorization through lactic acid bacteria (LAB) fermentation. The objective was to enhance their functional potential while contributing to waste reduction within a circular bio-economy framework. Selected Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains were applied to each matrix, and microbial growth dynamics were monitored throughout fermentation. In parallel, experimental data were used to build and validate machine learning-assisted models to predict growth kinetics and identify optimal fermentation conditions. To validate the model, the growth of LAB at 32 °C with a bacterial inoculum of approximately 108 CFU/mL was predicted and subsequently compared with experimental results. The developed models demonstrated reliable predictive capability, with low-to-moderate Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) across different substrates and growth parameters, ranging from 0.143 (vMaxAvg in apple) to 7.155 (LagAvg in orange). Following model validation, selected matrix–strain combinations were applied to develop food products, in which fermented by-products were incorporated as functional ingredients. The resulting formulations exhibited enhanced antioxidant activity and increased total phenolic content, as determined by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay and phenolic analysis, reaching 56.56 mg GAE/100 g (p < 0.05) and 33.76 mg Trolox eq./100 g (p < 0.05), respectively.

Tunisian traditional fermented foods represent a valuable cultural heritage transmitted across generations and are highly appreciated by consumers for their distinctive flavours, textures, and nutraceutical value. This review provides the first comprehensive and exclusive overview of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) associated with Tunisian traditional fermented foods, both plant- and animal-based. The overview integrates data across dairy, meat, fish, vegetable, and cereal matrices, highlighting the central role that LAB play in the processing of these foods, driving fermentation and shaping the quality and safety of final products. During fermentation, LAB produce a variety of bioactive metabolites, including organic acids, antimicrobial compounds, exopolysaccharides, enzymes, and vitamins, which enhance food safety, shelf life, nutritional quality, and health-promoting potential. The studies include evidence of LAB’s long history of safe use by humans, including the characterisation of autochthonous strains with protechnological, bioprotective, and probiotic properties, providing candidates for the design of starter, protective and probiotic cultures. By consolidating evidence on the relevance of microbial diversity, this review positions Tunisian LAB as valuable resources for both traditional food valorisation and innovative food system development. Importantly, key knowledge gaps are identified, including the limited application of omics-based tools, insufficient genomic safety assessments, and the lack of systematic analysis linking LAB diversity with the desired attributes to promote innovations. Overall, this review provides a structured framework for the valorisation of Tunisian agrofood heritage, bridging artisanal knowledge with modern food microbiology and offering strategic directions for future research, industrial translation, and sustainable innovation in fermented foods.

Over the last few years, global demand for fruit and vegetable production has increased as the world's population and demographics have shifted toward healthier lifestyles. Together, the agri-food industry has continued to grow worldwide, driven by advances in planting technology and the optimization of production processes, resulting in the generation of massive agricultural residues. These residues account for almost 50% of the primary material biomass, and they are rich in high-value components such as antioxidants, pigments, flavors, and dietary fibers. In this context, the circular economy concept has been proposed as a sustainable approach that aims to use agri-food by-products/wastes to reduce environmental pollution. Lactic fermentation is one of the earliest, versatile, and low-cost food processing techniques that utilizes lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to induce desirable biochemical transformations. This review proposes a holistic approach to this type of valorization, highlighting the different categories of fruits and vegetables, the effects of seasonality, the dynamics that lead to the production of by-products/wastes, the safety issues associated with the different contaminants, the regulatory environment, and critically overviewing the recent studies that proposed fruit and vegetable by-products/wastes processing using LAB as bioresources.

Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are commonly employed in the food industry as microbial starters, probiotics and for in situ biofortification of fermented foods. The use of vitamin-overproducing LAB represents a promising strategy for enhancing the nutritional value of staple home-made fermented foods. This approach could play a significant role in addressing deficiencies of B-group vitamins, especially vitamin B2, in underdeveloped regions.

Apple fruit is among the most consumed fruits in the world, both in fresh and processed forms (e.g., ready-to-eat fresh slices, juice, jam, cider, and dried slices). During apple consumption/processing, a significant amount of apple residue is discarded. These residues can also be interesting materials to exploit, particularly for direct valorization in the design of added-value foods. In fact, apple waste/by-products are rich in essential components, including sugars, proteins, dietary fibers, and phenolic compounds, as they comprise apple peels, seeds, and pulp (solid residue of juice production). In this sense, the current review paper presents an overview of the nutritional composition of apple waste/by-products, and mainly apple pomace, highlighting their application in producing value-added products through microbial biotechnology. If appropriately managed, apple by-products can generate a variety of useful compounds required in food (as well as in feed, pharmaceutics, and bioenergy). Recent strategies for the synergic use of apple waste/by-products and microbial resources such as lactic acid bacteria and yeasts are discussed. This review contributes to defining a reference framework for valorizing apple waste/by-products from a circular economy perspective through the application of bioprocesses (e.g., fermentation), mainly oriented towards designing foods with improved quality attributes.

Cheese manufacturing generates large volumes of whey with high biochemical and chemical oxygen demand, historically treated as waste. Yet, whey is rich in lactose, proteins, and minerals that can be fractionated and upgraded into foods and bio-based products. During cheese production, 80% to 90% of the total volume is discarded as whey, which can cause severe pollution. However, milk by-products can be a natural source of high-value-added compounds and a cost-effective substrate for microbial growth and metabolites production. The current review focuses on cheese whey as a key milk by-product, highlighting its generation and composition, the challenges associated with its production, methods for fractionating whey to recover bioactive compounds, its applications in functional food development, the barriers to its broader use in the food sector, and its potential as a substrate for producing value-added compounds. Particularly, the focus was on the recent solutions to use cheese whey as a primary material for microbial fermentation and enzymatic processes, producing a diverse range of chemicals and products for applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and biotechnology industries. This review contributes to defining a framework for reducing the environmental impacts of whey through its application in designing foods and generating biomaterials.

Milk and water kefir are traditional fermented beverages attracting considerable scientific and commercial interest, due to their microbial diversity, health-enhancing properties and consumer preferences. They are linked to tradition, meet the tastes of global consumers, and are model microbiomes/fermented products of considerable relevance. In this study, a Direct Injection Mass Spectrometry (DIMS) technique, i.e., Proton Transfer Reaction Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS), was exploited for the rapid and non-invasive profiling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the fermentation of i) milk, ii) oat, iii) corn, and iv) barley, using both milk kefir grains and water kefir grains as fermentation microbiomes. The impact of the supplementary inoculation of a strain of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum M5MA1-B2 of biotechnological relevance, in association with kefir microbiomes, has also been evaluated. The intensity 62 ions, corresponding to volatile compounds belonging to the chemical classes of acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols, lactones and sulfur compounds, was monitored at 13 different times, representative of the different phases of the overall fermentation time of 48 h, offering a time-scale omics approach in microbiomes study (i.e. kefir microbiomes in milk and in cereal flours). The addition of L. plantarum M5MA1-B2 to kefir grains serves as a suitable model for demonstrating the perturbation of a single-strain starter culture when inoculated in matrices fermented by complex microbiomes. A complex modulation was detected, with an overall intensity-reducing effect for many VOCs, including acetoin, diacetyl, acetaldehyde, and ethanol. Heptanal/2-heptanone (in cereal-based matrices) 2-nonanone (in all the matrices) are good markers of strain addition with respect to milk kefir grains. This study also contributed to extending the volatilome of milk kefir, describing for the first time 19 VOCs associated with this matrix (e.g. propenoic acid, methanethiol, hexenal, 2,4-heptadienal).

This study characterises a novel Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Sc. pombe) strain SP2 isolated from a winery where alcoholic fermentation has been prevented by sulphiting to obtain preserved grape must, in which spontaneous malo-alcoholic fermentation occurs despite high sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations. This work demonstrated that the same yeast strain can have a dichotomous relevance in the same agri-food chain: a spoilage agent in preserved grape must and ii) as a candidate starter culture for wine production. In the study, levels of tolerance to SO2 in the simulations of selective pressure exerted by this bacteriostatic agent are compatible with the phenomenon observed in the winery, demonstrating the spoilage potential of the strain in the preserved must industry. The selection of a highly resistant fission yeast strain highlights the importance of studying food niches to improve our understanding of evolutionary phenomena and phenotypic variability in model microorganisms. Fermentation trials in synthetic musts, white and red wines, contribute to assess the yeast behaviour under monoculture, co-inoculation, and sequential inoculation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sc. pombe monocultures lagged in fermentation kinetics and produced more acetic acid, especially in red musts. Sequential and co-inoculation contributed to enhancing volatile profiles, especially esters and higher alcohols, contributing to superior aromatic complexity as illustrated by multivariate analysis. Sequential inoculation, in particular, enhances the production of key esters and alcohols, enabling efficient malic acid degradation with low acetic acid production. The results also underscore that the matrix type (synthetic must, red, or white wine) interacts strongly with the inoculation strategy in shaping the volatile composition.

Fermented products represent ecological niches for developing microorganisms of interest as bio-resources for improving human well-being. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are frequently associated with food fermentations and represent relevant biotechnological resources for enhancing the overall quality of foods and beverages. Among the other potential applications, LAB isolated from traditional fermented foods can play a significant role in addressing malnutrition in developing countries, positively modulating the finished products’ nutritional quality. Nigeria represents an excellent model region to explore this topic as (i) it is a country where the magnitude of phenomena associated with malnutrition is high; (ii) there is a significant effort linked to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN); and (iii) there is an interesting diversity of traditional fermented foods and beverages. In nations such as Nigeria, fermented foods are integral to infant and young child nutrition, often serving as complementary foods. This review proposes a detailed overview of traditional Nigerian fermented products, including ogi, gari, fufu, lafun, kunu-zaki, masa, wara, kobele, abacha, pito, and burukutu. An overview of the microbial diversity associated with these matrices is also provided, considering a specific focus on LAB responsible for the spontaneous fermentation of various Nigerian foods. We underlined the potential of different LAB species/stains to produce vitamins naturally, particularly B-group vitamins, suggesting strategies that can be followed for in situ biofortification, enhancing the nutritional value of fermented products. In general, the review, summarizing data on microbial diversity presented in principal traditional fermented foods and beverages in Nigeria, supports future studies to exploit the potential of LAB species/strains from fermented foods to combat micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries, such as Nigeria, with the objective to mitigate hidden hunger and alleviate malnutrition in vulnerable populations.

The use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) for the probiotic enrichment of minimally processed fruit is a well-established practice in the literature. In addition, several LAB demonstrated a strain-specific ability to control harmful microorganisms and decay agents, improving shelf life, maintaining quality, and promoting the safety of fruits and vegetables. Edible coatings can help modulate the phenomena of gas exchange and water loss by fruits, representing protection from physical damage and spoilage phenomena linked to oxidation and the development of undesired microorganisms. At the same time, the coating can represent an innovative delivery matrix for the LAB strains of potential interest to improve safety and quality in the postharvest management of fruits. In this work, five Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains, previously characterised for their probiotic and antifungal activity, were incorporated into a sodium alginate coating to develop edible probiotic coatings with antifungal properties for table grapes cv. Italia. The bacterial transfer and their survival were evaluated by comparing coated and uncoated table grapes during 14 days of cold storage at 4 °C. The alginate edible coating increased the number of viable cells transferred to the surface of the berries from about 5 to more than 7 Log CFU/g, with a crucial impact on the potential functional attributes of the final product. The ability of the functionalised coatings to counteract the decay development was evaluated on table grape berries artificially contaminated with Aspergillus niger CECT 2805. A significant reduction in lesion diameter was observed in the alginate coating with L. plantarum 11-A, with a reduction from 15.40 ± 1.14 mm of uncoated berries to 8.40 ± 1.14 mm of berries coated with L. plantarum 11-A. The lesion diameter reduction was also accompanied by a reduction in the symptoms of infection, such as browning around the wound. These results suggest the application of selected strains of L. plantarum as promising bio-resources to enhance the overall value of ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables, particularly in combination with edible coating as a carrier matrix. While a strain-dependent effect was not detected with respect to the improvement in the number of cells in the edible coating, a variability depending on the biotype used was detected for the properties linked to biocontrol, suggesting that the inclusion in edible packaging may represent an innovative criterion in the selection of lactobacilli to be applied postharvest.

Strawberry is a highly perishable soft fruit susceptible to microbial contaminations, with Botrytis cinerea among the main spoilers in post-harvest. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are well-known food-grade bacteria, usually employed in food fermentation for their protechnological and probiotic properties. Moreover, LAB strains are also used as biocontrol agents for their ability to synthesise antimicrobial metabolites. However, applications of selected LAB to improve the overall quality in the fruit sector are still underexplored. In this study probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains showing anti- Botrytis activity were grown in strawberry juice (SJ). Probiotics were transferred to strawberries through dipping in fermented SJ, and the impact of the carrier matrix on their survival was evaluated in a simulated oro-gastrointestinal model. The best candidates were selected to investigate the postharvest quality of strawberries at different levels including functional (i.e., viability of probiotics at the end of the shelf life); safety (i.e., ability to control the growth of foodborne pathogenic bacteria); shelf life (i.e., biocontrol of B. cinerea); ); nutritional and sensory. The probiotic survival under simulated gastrointestinal conditions was up to 2.5 Log higher when strawberry was used as carrier. In co-inoculation assays on strawberries, L. plantarum 11 A and CB56 were able to reduce the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli of about 1 Log after 7 days of cold storage. Moreover, live L. plantarum were able to control the growth of B. cinerea of about ten and five folds for strain 11 A and CB56, respectively, and a lower bioprotective effect was detected on strawberries dipped in the cell-free SJ fermented by L. plantarum 11 A. No significant effect was observed in terms of the main nutritional compounds, while improved descriptors related to the appearance of the fruit were observed. Therefore, this study allows us to elucidate the potential of selected LAB strains to improve the overall post-harvest quality of strawberries by using a thorough food-grade approach.

The ongoing occurrence of foodborne diseases and the imperative need for efficient spoilage and pathogen control in food products constitute a critical challenge for the food industry. The rising demands of consumers for safe, healthy, and clean-label food products have led to an increased interest in natural antimicrobial alternatives. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have proven their value in the food industry in recent years, also in reason of their antagonistic properties against undesired microbes and their significant related protechnological attributes. The natural antimicrobial compounds produced by LAB exhibit inhibitory effects on pathogens and effectively inhibit the activities of food spoilage-related organisms. Applying secondary metabolites of LAB, notably bacteriocins, organic acids, and others, has found commercial utility across multiple food sectors, effectively preventing the proliferation of undesirable microorganisms and simultaneously enhancing the sensory properties and overall quality of various food products. This review comprehensively explores the natural microbial compounds produced by LAB, specifically focusing on their antimicrobial action in supporting effective and sustainable microbial management. Additionally, it highlights their strategic application across various technological contexts within the food industry.

The food industry constantly seeks new starter cultures with superior characteristics to enhance the sensory and overall quality of final products. Starting from a collection of Algerian dairy (goat and camel) lactic acid bacteria, this work focused on the exploration of the technological and probiotic potential of Weissella cibaria (VR81 and LVT1) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum R12 strains isolated from raw camel milk and fermented milk, respectively. These bioactive strains were selected for their high performance among ten other LAB strains and were used as starter cultures to develop a novel and nutritionally enhanced dairy-like plant-based yogurt using quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) as a raw matrix. The strains were evaluated for their antagonistic effects against Listeria innocua, Listeria ivanovii, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, resilience to acidic and osmotic challenges, and tolerance to gastrointestinal mimicking conditions (i.e., pepsin and bile salt). Their aggregation and adhesion profiles were also analyzed. Furthermore, L. plantarum and W. cibaria were tested in single and co-culture for the fermentation and biocontrol of quinoa. The strains exhibited probiotic properties, including a high potential for biocontrol applications, specifically against L. innocua and P. aeruginosa (20 mm diameter zone with the neutralized cell-free supernatant), which disappeared after protease treatment, suggesting that bioactive peptides might be responsible for the observed antimicrobial effect. Additionally, they demonstrated resilience to acidic (pH 2) and osmotic challenges (1M sucrose), tolerance to gastro-intestinal conditions, as well as good aggregation and adhesion profile. Furthermore, the strains were able to produce metabolites of interest, such as exopolysaccharide (yielding up to 4.7 mg/mL) and riboflavin, reaching considerable production levels of 2.5 mg/L upon roseoflavin selection. The application of W. cibaria and L. plantarum as primary starters (both in single and co-culture) for fermenting quinoa resulted in effective acidification of the matrix (ΔpH of 2.03 units) and high-quality beverage production. in vivo challenge tests against L. innocua showed the complete inhibition of this pathogen when L. plantarum was included in the starter, either alone or in combination with W. cibaria. Both species also inhibited Staphylococcus and filamentous fungi. Moreover, the co-culture of mutant strains of L. plantarum R12d and W. cibaria VR81d produced riboflavin levels of 175.41 µg/100 g in fermented quinoa, underscoring their potential as starters for the fermentation, biopreservation, and biofortification of quinoa while also displaying promising probiotic characteristics.

Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has been developed for the direct, high sensitivity and high time resolution monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Although PTR-MS development was not guided by greenness goals, most of its features perfectly fit within the green analytical chemistry (GAC) principles, making PTR-MS an intrinsically green analytical technique. Indeed, in its basic implementation, it does not require solvents or non-renewable carrier gases and, in principle, distilled water, used to feed the source where precursors ions are formed, is the only consumable. Food science and technology and agroindustry are amongst the fields where PTR-MS has been successfully exploited. Here we review and discuss, with emphasis on the GAC requirements, the potential of PTR-MS as a tool for both fundamental research and industrial applications in different food-related themes: i) food consumption and sensory, ii) bioprocess monitoring, iii) traceability, iv) quality control, and v) high-throughput food volatilome phenotyping. The outcome of all these related studies indicates PTR-MS both as a complementary tool to gas chromatographic methods and as a valuable technique when reduced analysis time, high sensitivity and/or on-line measurement are required.

The topic of microbial interactions is of notable relevance in oenology, being connected with their impact on microbial biodiversity and wine quality. The interactions among different couples of microorganisms, in particular yeasts and lactic acid bacteria representative of the must/wine microbial consortium, have been tested in this study. This interaction’s screening has been implemented by means of plate assays, using culture medium, grape juice, and wine agar as substrates. Different antagonistic phenomena have been detected, belonging to the following interaction categories: yeast-yeast, yeast-bacteria, bacteria-yeast, and bacteria-bacteria. In general, the inhibitory activity has been observed in all three media agar used as substrates, resulting in more frequent on culture medium, followed by grape juice and, finally, wine. Specifically, the work is one of the first reports demonstrating the reciprocal interactions between non-Saccharomyces yeasts (NSY) and malolactic bacteria. The findings shed new light on the co-inoculation of the yeast starter culture with malolactic bacteria, as well as the biocontrol potential of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) strains. Highlighted microbial interactions are relevant for the management of alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation, and the development of distinctive aroma profiles, control of spoilage yeasts, and the selection of tailored mixed starter cultures. In addition, the plate assay method could be a fast, cheap, and suitable method to exclude negative interactions among Saccharomyces spp., NSY, and malolactic bacteria during trials from regional spontaneous fermentations with the aim to select tailored mixed starter cultures.

Consumers' increasing interest in sparkling wine has enhanced the global market's demand. The pro-technological yeasts strains selected for the formulation of microbial starter cultures are a fundamental parameter for exalting the quality and safety of the final product. Nowadays, the management of the employed microbial resource is highly requested by stakeholders, because of the increasing economic importance of this oenological sector. Here, we report an overview of the production processes of sparkling wine and the main characterisation criteria to select Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces strains appropriate for the preparation of commercial starter cultures dedicated to the primary and, in particular, the secondary fermentation of sparkling wines. We also focused on the possible uses of selected indigenous strains to improve the unique traits of sparkling wines from particular productive areas. In summary, the sparkling wine industry will get an important advantage from the management of autochthonous microbial resources associated with vineyard/wine microbial diversity.

In fermented foods, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are often metabolic products of microorganisms, form a subset of the chemical compounds contributing to the sensory perceptions arising during product consumption. Direct injection mass spectrometry (DIMS) techniques allow for the direct and real-time measurement of VOC release without the need for laborious sample treatment, extraction procedures, and chromatographic separation. DIMS has been successfully applied in different fields, including characterizing the formation of flavor compounds associated with fermentation bioprocesses in foods and beverages. In this chapter, following a general overview on DIMS for the study of fermentation generated VOCs, the use of proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS to investigate VOC generation during the fermentation bioprocesses in yeast-based fermentations and to characterize the flavor contributions of starter cultures is described. To this extent, a panel of five experiments is presented that demonstrates a pipeline of increasing complexity where DIMS is used to monitor VOC release in association with a) yeasts grown in a standard culture media, b) the growth of different yeast starter cultures in a real food matrix, c) the interaction between yeast starter cultures and different wheat flours, d) the interaction between different combinations of starter cultures grown in multiple food matrices, and e) the contribution of commercial starter cultures to specific flavor attributes in a food matrix. Fermentation is globally recognized as one of the key sustainable technologies in food science, and DIMS offers a low-cost, time-saving, and low-impact methodology to investigate fundamental themes and support agroindustry applications. Hence, the proposed approach is of interest to the fields of food biotechnology and flavor science but, this coupling of ‘green’ biotechnological and analytical solutions also represents a bridge towards improved sustainability of agro-food systems.

One of the main targets of sustainable development is the reduction of environmental, social, and economic negative externalities associated with the production of foods and beverages. Those externalities occur at different stages of food chains, from the farm to the fork, with deleterious impacts to different extents. Increasing evidence testifies to the potential of microbial-based solutions and fermentative processes as mitigating strategies to reduce negative externalities in food systems. In several cases, innovative solutions might find in situ applications from the farm to the fork, including advances in food matrices by means of tailored fermentative processes. This viewpoint recalls the attention on microbial biotechnologies as a field of bioeconomy and of ‘green’ innovations to improve sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems alleviating environmental, economic, and social undesired externalities. We argue that food scientists could systematically consider the potential of microbes as ‘mitigating agents’ in all research and development activities dealing with fermentation and microbial-based biotechnologies in the agri-food sector. This aims to conciliate process and product innovations with a development respectful of future generations’ needs and with the aptitude of the systems to overcome global challenges.