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Novel Production Protocol for Small-scale Manufacture of Probiotic Fermented Foods
Published on: September 10, 2016
Postbiotics in Food Systems: Components, Production Methods, Food Applications, Functional Properties, and
Tansu Taspinar1, Nuray Güzeler1
1Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Cukurova University Adana Türkiye.
Food Science & Nutrition
|July 30, 2026
Summary
Postbiotics, inactive microbial products, offer stable, safe alternatives to probiotics in functional foods. This review evaluates their engineering potential, production, characterization, and challenges for wider industry adoption.
Area of Science:
- Food Science and Technology
- Biotechnology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Functional foods increasingly utilize postbiotics due to probiotic viability and safety concerns.
- Postbiotics, defined as inanimate microbial cells or metabolites, offer enhanced stability and safety.
- Their technological stability makes them ideal for food engineering applications requiring processing robustness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive, engineering-focused evaluation of postbiotics as next-generation functional food ingredients.
- To summarize current definitions, production methods, and characterization techniques for postbiotics.
- To assess the technological advantages, safety profiles, applications, and challenges of postbiotics in the food industry.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on postbiotic definitions, production, and characterization.
- Assessment of thermal and non-thermal production methods for integration into food processing.
- Examination of analytical techniques for postbiotic assessment in food matrices.
- Comparison of postbiotic and probiotic technological advantages and safety profiles.
- Compilation of postbiotic applications, commercial products, and key specifications.
Main Results:
- Postbiotics present significant technological advantages and improved safety profiles compared to probiotics.
- Diverse applications across various food matrices are identified, with commercial products available.
- Key challenges include interactions with food components, lack of standardized protocols, regulatory uncertainties, and scalable production methods.
Conclusions:
- Standardized inactivation and characterization protocols are crucial for regulatory alignment and health claims.
- Further research is needed to improve process efficiency and support the development of safe, sustainable postbiotic-based foods.
- Addressing industrial adoption challenges is key to unlocking the full potential of postbiotics in the functional food sector.
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