Food safety risks in traditional fermented food from South-East Asia

Abstract

South-East Asia is well-known for traditionally fermented foods. However, these products are generally still produced at small scale following traditional procedures. Nowadays, consumers are particularly aware of the health concerns regarding food additives; the health benefits of “natural” and “traditional” foods, processed with no added chemical preservatives, are becoming more and more attractive. Therefore, their confidence towards safety and quality of Asian fermented foods is low. Major food safety concerns are related not only to food production methods, but also to how foods are processed, stored, sold and consumed. In this review the main factors affecting food safety are analysed. They are not limited only to the improper use of chemicals such as pesticides or antibiotics, but also to improper processing and handling during storage which could provoke the accumulation of toxic compounds such as mycotoxins or biogenic amines. Urgent attention is required to improve the quality of the ingredients and the integration of food safety management systems for industrial growth. Therefore, in the last part of this review directions to improve the food safety of fermented foods are proposed.