Safety and Quality in Fermented Beverages

Dear Colleagues,

The production of fermented beverages poses its own challenges, and ensuring both the safety and quality of these beverages is paramount to public health. The fermentation process relies on microbial activity, often involving bacteria and yeast. However, not all microorganisms are beneficial or harmless. Ensuring the safety of fermented beverages involves controlling the presence and growth of pathogens that can cause spoilage. Beyond safety, the quality of a fermented beverage is essential for its commercial success. Factors such as flavor, aroma, and appearance all contribute to the overall quality. Quality control measures can include sensory analysis, chemical analysis, and ensuring consistency in production processes. Different fermented beverages require distinct fermentation techniques. Understanding the specific requirements of each beverage is crucial for producing a safe and high-quality product. Techniques can range from using specific yeast strains to controlling temperature and pH levels during fermentation. Compliance with local and international regulations is crucial for ensuring the safety and quality of fermented beverages. These regulations may cover aspects such as labeling, production practices, and limits for certain substances (like sulfites, biogenic amines, and mycotoxins) or on alcohol content. Safety and quality are key considerations in the production and consumption of fermented beverages. By understanding the microbial processes involved, implementing quality control measures, complying with regulations, and staying informed about emerging trends, producers can create products that are not only safe but also enjoyable and commercially successful.

Main Topics:

• Fermented beverages
• Fermented beverage microbiology
• Fermented beverage safety
• Fermented beverage quality
• The microbial spoilage of fermented beverages
• The role of LAB within fermented beverage safety and quality
• Emerging trends in fermented beverages
• Fermented beverage contaminations
• The mitigation of fermented beverage contaminations
• Biogenic amines
• Ethyl carbamate
• Volatile phenols
• Off-flavors
• “Brett Character” and mousy taint
• Oxidized taints from acetaldehyde
• The production of mycotoxins

Dr. Fernanda Cosme
Dr. Fernando M. Nunes
Dr. Luís Filipe-Ribeiro
Dr. Miguel Ribeiro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• microbial spoilage
• safety
• quality
• contaminants
• yeasts
• fungal
• lactic acid bacterial
• biogenic amines
• ethyl carbamate
• volatile phenols