Micro- organisms and food How bacteria and yeast are used to produce foods and other products such as medicines
Making yoghurt Milk is pasteurised to sterilise it It is homogenised to mix in the fat Cooled and inoculated with bacteria Incubated at degrees to digest bacteria and ferment lactose Stirred and cooled so it sets Other ingredients may be added now
Making beer Barley seeds are germinated and make amylase They are killed and dried to make malt Malt is ground and mixed with water; amylase turns starch to maltose Mash is boiled and filtered Hops are added, and yeast for fermentation Beer is centrifuged and sometimes pasteurized
An industrial fermenter Glucose & amino acids are added (substrate) Suitable organisms are added Sterilised (filtered) air is pumped in The mixture is agitated (stirred) using paddles The waste gas outlet removes CO 2 It is all computer-controlled: pH, temperature, CO 2 and O 2 are monitored using a data logger The product is removed and filtered to extract the desired substance (e.g. insulin or penicillin)