By the middle of the 19th century, two events had This explains, in part, how it is possible to process
occurred which had a very significant impact on the millions of litres of milk into cheese in a single day
manner in which food fermentations were performed in a controlled method where product of the highest
and on our understanding of the process. Firstly, the quality can be consistently produced.
industrial revolution resulted in the concentration of Although the developed world can claim to have
large masses of populations in towns and cities. This elevated the production of some fermented foods to a
meant that the traditional method of supplying such large industrial and technologically sophisticated
foods within local communities no longer applied. level, it is still true that even in Europe, there are
The ability to service these new markets required regions where products are manufactured in a tradiproducts
to be made in large quantities necessitating tional localised ‘cottage’ or ‘farmhouse’ manner. The
the industrialisation of the manufacturing process. concept of using backslopping is still practised for
Secondly, the blossoming of microbiology as a some products including a range of cheeses and
science from the 1850s onwards resulted in the fermented meats and vegetables. In fact, many of
biological basis of fermentation being understood for these products are now considered to be of a
the first time. Thus, the essential role of bacteria, premium type because they retain flavour and aroma
yeasts and moulds in the generation of fermented characteristics that many would claim have all but
foods came to be understood and this ultimately disappeared in the ‘factory’ manufactured products.
resulted in more controlled and efficient fermen- However, it appears to be inevitable and even
tations. ironical that as such products become more popular
The coincidence of scientific advancement and the and as demand grows, the only way in which the
industrialisation of the manufacture of fermented expanding market can be satisfied is to upscale the
foods was fortunate. Clearly, the traditional approach manufacturing process where the use of starter
of backslopping or even natural fermentation of cultures becomes almost essential. This often has the
substrate was not an appropriate foundation upon consequence of diminishing the uniqueness of the
which to base any large-scale industrial process. The original product and the loss of those very characadvent
of retailing and mass marketing required that teristics that originally made the product popular.
products of consistent quality and safety be avail- One of the challenges facing scientists and techable.
For many fermented foods, but particularly nologists in the future will undoubtedly be to allow
milk-derived products, the characterisation of the the large-scale production of fermented foods withmicroorganisms
responsible for the fermentation out losing the unique flavour and other traits associtowards
the end of the 19th century led to the ated with the traditional products from which they
isolation of starter cultures which could be produced are derived.
on a large scale to supply factories involved in the The original and primary purpose of fermenting
manufacture of these products. This significant de- food substrates was to achieve a preservation effect.
velopment had a major impact on the processes used However, with the development of the many effecand
contributed to ensuring consistency of product tive alternative preservation technologies which are
and reliability of fermentation. These developments now commonly available, particularly in the Western
parallelled significant technological advances in the World, this is no longer the most pressing requirehandling
and processing of milk which has resulted ment and many of these foods are manufactured
in dairy fermentations being among the most because their unique flavour, aroma and texture
sophisticated and best researched of the food fermen- attributes are much appreciated by the consumer.
tations to this day. For example, research on the However, even in these situations, the conditions
lactic acid bacteria, which have a dominant role in generated by the fermentation are essential in ensurthe
production of many fermented foods, particularly ing the shelf-life and microbiological safety of the
those that are milk-based, has continued to advance products. Nevertheless, there are many parts of the
at a very impressive rate through the 20th century world where the preservation role is still the essential