Fermentation (Industrial)

A controlled biological process in which microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, fungi) are used to produce a desired compound from a carbon/nutrient source. In the food and nutraceutical ingredient industry, fermentation is the production method for many key ingredients: citric acid (Aspergillus niger fermenting glucose), xanthan gum (Xanthomonas campestris), yeast protein (Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth), certain vitamins (riboflavin, Vitamin B12), amino acids (many are produced by bacterial fermentation of glucose), and glutamic acid (for MSG). The fermentation origin does not make an ingredient "natural" in a regulatory sense — "naturally derived" claims depend on specific regulations in each market.