New Trends in Technology and Identity of Traditional Dairy and Fermented

Trends in Food Science & Technology 37 (2014) 51e58 Review New trends in Introduction technology and In the last few years, the demand for traditional food products has greatly increased and it poses a contradiction the consumer. Innovation in food production technologies has al- identity of traditional lowed the production of safer foods with a longer shelf life, and today the risk associated with food ingestion is consider- dairy and fermented ably low. However, the new life-style trend known as ‘green consumerism’, with people demanding more foods that are organic and with reduced levels of chemical preservatives meat production for food conservation (Leite, Montenegro, & de Oliveira, 2006), has led to a re-discovery of traditional food products (Settanni et al., 2012). processes The food policies undertaken by many government insti- tutions to protect small-scale producers, as well as those Luca Settanni* and promoting nutrition guidelines, made consumers more sen- sitive to food culture. Products from traditional procedures Giancarlo Moschetti became more attractive largely because consumers consid- Department of Agricultural and Forest Science, ered them more ‘natural’. That perception gives the food an Universita degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, identity that, in turn, engenders a certain familiarity. All 90128 Palermo, Italy (Tel.: D39 091 23896043; these aspects that help create a food’s ‘tradition’ provide fax: D39 091 6515531; e-mail: [email protected], a perception of quality and legitimacy the consumers, [email protected]) even if they have never tasted it before. When trying an unknown product, a consumer’s behav- iour may differ depending on the food’s reputation. In gen- Interest in ecofood tourism is strictly related to the consump- eral, people are suspicious of a new product obtained with tion of products associated with the geographical area visited. innovative technologies or atypical raw materials. On the Local products are often requested by consumers living far contrary, a traditional product associated with a given from the production zones (e.g. in bistro restaurants that repro- geographical area is perceived positively. In the latter duce the atmosphere of typicality). This phenomenon, if on the case, consumers have somewhat of an idea of how the one hand guaranteeing the continued popularity of certain traditional food will taste and what its organoleptic charac- traditional foods, highlights the inherent dangers that certain teristics will be, even what production peculiarities to types of food pose. They could spread the risks to a much expect, although they may have never encountered that wider area that they might typically inhabit. The higher the de- product before. Intrinsically, consumers trust in the hy- mand for certain products, the more variations of the produc- gienic status of that product and take for granted its safety. tion processes of the traditional products there will be. This is When a food item causes food poisoning and/or diseases, particularly evident for fermented products that do not have there is enormous damage not only to consumers’ health, trademark protection which allows products made with but also to the food producer and the food’s reputation. different technologies and/or raw materials to use the same This subsequently affects the economic activities of that designation. This paper reports the strengths and the weak- food market. nesses of traditional fermented food products, examining the In several industrialized countries, food safety stan- concept of typicality, and evidencing the risks associated dards have recently been modernized. Government with consumption. agencies involved in food regulation have developed and enforced standards that are more stringent, and have mandated more severe penalties for food manufacturers whodonotcomplywithnewregulations(Holmdel, * Corresponding author. 2011). 0924-2244/$ - see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2014.02.006 52 L. Settanni, G. Moschetti / Trends in Food Science & Technology 37 (2014) 51e58 Since consumers have become more demanding and Tradition, typicality, innovation government requirements more rigorous in the last decades, In relation to food, the average consumer typically food producers have faced conflicting challenges. Chemical thinks about ‘tradition’ as an age-old process to obtain additives have generally been used to combat specific mi- products that can still be appreciated in the present. croorganisms. However, for foods processed with no added When this process is performed in a specific geographical synthetic preservatives, natural alternatives for the exten- area, the resulting product is considered ‘typical’. As an sion of shelf life of non-fermented foods include microbial example, naturally fermented sausages represent traditional inhibitors (e.g. bacteriocins and antifungal compounds) and products. ‘Suino Nero dei Nebrodi’ sausages made using vegetable by-products (e.g. essential oils and water ex- this technology (Sicily, Italy) represent typical products. tracts), and for fermented foods, pro-technological microor- These concepts determine a perceived quality and have a ganisms that combat undesired (pathogenic/spoilage) positive effect on consumer choice. agents. All these natural strategies may be used without Since the 1980’s, new production criteria have been compromising the naturalness of the traditional products, needed to satisfy the increasing volumes of foods processed since they are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) with high hygienic standards. In many cases, this trend (Settanni & Corsetti, 2008; Viuda-Martos, Ruiz-Navajas, involved drastic modifications to food processing that have Fernandez-Lopez, & Perez- Alvarez, 2008). deeply affected the relationship between production environ- For the above reasons, traditional food technologies are ment and product characteristics. The transition from arti- not immutable in principle (Cavazza, Franciosi, Settanni, sanal or low-scale productions to those with a high degree Monfredini, & Poznanski, 2011). Several factors may have of automation has influenced the entire agri-food chain changed over time: raw material production and availability, (Wilkinson, 2004). The effects were different and variable environmental conditions, pre-harvest safety (for vegetables) depending on the product considered, but in majority of the and breeding (for animals), the origin and experience of the cases, it impaired the characteristic territorial links that manufacturer, and as reported above, government regula- were more easily traceable for the artisanal productions. tions for hygienic safety. Even with all of these process On the other hand, the innovative production strategies changes, the final food product has remained essentially have positively influenced the evolution of some high-value the same. Even so, these changes may affect the concept of products, giving them an even higher value. Technological food typicality: the expression of the characteristics of food’s evolution has always accompanied the manufacturing of territory, history, and tradition (Iannarilli, 2002). typical products, even those enjoying a ‘recognition of qual- Based on the technology of transformation and the ity’ status [protected designation of origin (PDO), protected microbiology of processing and conservation, foods may geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialty guar- be divided into two main groups: fermented and non- anteed (TSG)], and recognition of ‘geographical indications fermented products. In the former are included all foods ob- and traditional specialties’ conferred by the European Com- tained via the action of microorganisms that, during their munity to promote and protect the names of quality agricul- growth, metabolize the macromolecules of raw materials, tural products and foodstuffs (European Community, 2012). forming foods characterized by higher organoleptic and However, these products cannot remain unchanged within a nutritional properties, and a more prolonged shelf life changing ecological, technical, and social environment. than starting materials. Fermenting microorganisms may Modern day agriculture is different from that available still be alive at consumption. On the other hand, non- 20 years ago; raw materials and final food products have fermented foods are those in which the presence of micro- also changed over time. Current tradition is based on past organisms is generally undesired (Man & Jones, 2000). innovation, and current innovations may be considered as The microflora of a typical fermented food defines the tradition in the future. The need to respond to the demands final characteristics of the resulting product, and often re- that come even from distant markets, economically relevant flects the environment and systems of production. Several for the survival of certain traditional food items as well as niche products are linked to certain production areas not their producers, often imposes the development of specific only for the traditions that are handed down over time, production criteria. but also and, most importantly, for the presence of microbi- Recent processing innovations may have contributed to al species and strains colonizing the processing environ- the increased value of many traditional food products, ment and the equipment employed during processing which not only provide energy and nutrition (McGuire & (Settanni et al., 2012) that

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