Food Fermentations: Micro-Nutrient Fortification of Tribal Food

Fermentation is one of the oldest forms of food preservation techniques in the world.Fermented foods such as bread,cheese has been consumed for thousands of years and strongly linked to cultural tradition in rural house holds and tribes. In Asia particularly in India many more cuisines and preparations involving food fermentations are practiced traditionally. Some preparations are well controlled and have good nutritional and hygienically.Tribal food preparations are crude and uncontrolled. Nutritionally they are deficient and are vehicles for intestinal pathogens.This results in severe micro nutrient malnutrition in tribal communities called Madiya in Gadchiroli Dist. of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state in India.Madiya tribes consume one fermented rice preparation Ambil as staple. In this book the health status of Madiya tribes,composition of Ambil and their co-relation is discussed.similarly strategies for improvement of B-Complex vitamin levels are discussed by using consortium of microbes and combination of rice with other wild grain Kosari.Thus such type of food may be used as therapeutic or functional food in future with probiotic approach.