Techniques to control the fermentation processes could include the development of pure starter cultures. Developing these by laboratory selection or genetic engineering is not viable. A more feasible approach would be to exploit the ecological principle of inoculum enrichment by natural selection. Another approach to stabilise fermentation under nonsterile conditions is the use of multi-strain dehydrated starters which can be stored at ambient temperature. These are already used for the manufacture of tempeh (Nout, 1992).