ORIGINAL ARTICLE Development of starter culture for improved processing of Lafun, an African fermented cassava food product S.W. Padonou 1 , D.S. Nielsen 2 , N.H. Akissoe 1 , J.D. Hounhouigan 1 , M.C. Nago 1 and M. Jakobsen 2 1 De ´ partement de Nutrition et Sciences Alimentaires, Faculte ´ des Sciences Agronomiques, Universite ´ d’Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin 2 Department of Food Science, Food Microbiology, Centre for Advanced Food Studies (LMC), Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Introduction Cassava roots are processed in several ways to avoid their postharvest deterioration (Westby 2002), to reduce the toxicity of the roots used as food (Oyewole 1995; Amoa- Awua et al. 1996), to improve the palatability of the derived products (Oyewole and Odunfa 1992; Nout and Sarkar 1999) and to increase the trading value of cassava. Several cassava processing methods including fermentation of the root are used in Africa. Fermentation has been shown to be a suitable method to enhance the safety, orga- noleptic and nutritional quality of many cassava-derived foods (Cooke et al. 1987; Nout and Motarjemi 1997; Oyewole 1997; Caplice and Fitzgerald 1999; Kimaryo et al. 2000). However, in Africa, fermentation of cassava often takes place as a spontaneous process although traditional inocula are used to ferment cassava while processing tradi- tional foods such as Agbelima (Amoa-Awua et al. 1996, 1997), Attie ´ke ´ (Coulin et al. 2006) and Lafun (Padonou et al. 2009a). The quality of the end product thus varies considerably (Padonou et al. 2009a). Lafun, as it is called in Benin and Nigeria, is an African cassava fermented food product obtained by soaking peeled cassava chunks in water, at ambient temperature (28–32°C) for 2–5 days. The cassava chunks are later sun-dried and milled. The flour is used to cook a stiff por- ridge (Oka) often consumed with various stews. During the fermentation process, different biochemical changes occur such as degradation of cyanogenic compounds; formation of flavour compounds; and softening of the roots (Oyewole and Odunfa 1988, 1990, 1992; Ampe and Brauman 1995). The degree of root softening is the most Keywords cassava fermentation, Lafun, pectinase, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, softening. Correspondence Joseph D. Hounhouigan, De ´ partement de Nutrition et Sciences Alimentaires, Faculte ´ des Sciences Agronomiques, Universite ´ d’Abomey- Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Benin. E-mail: joseph.hounhouigan@fsa.uac.bj 2010 ⁄ 0452: received 19 March 2010, revised 1 May 2010 and accepted 2 May 2010 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.2010.04769.x Abstract Aims: To select appropriate micro-organisms to be used as starter culture for reliable and reproducible fermentation of Lafun. Methods and Results: A total of 22 cultures consisting of yeast, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Bacillus cereus strains predominant in traditionally fermented cassava during Lafun processing were tested as potential starter cultures. In an initial screening, Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2Y48P22, Lactobacillus fermentum 2L48P21, Lactobacillus plantarum 1L48P35 and B. cereus 2B24P31 were found to be the most promising of the cultures and were subsequently tested in different combinations as mixed starter cultures to ferment submerged cassava roots. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, inoculated singly or combined with B. cereus, gave the softest cassava root after 48 h of fermentation according to determination of compression profile and stress at fracture. Overall, sensory quality testing showed that Lafun obtained from S. cerevisiae-fermented cassava gave the most preferred stiff porridge. Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2Y48P22 showed pectinase production in a model system. Conclusions: The results suggest that S. cerevisiae 2Y48P22 is the most efficient organism for cassava softening during the fermentation. Therefore, it could be combined with LAB and used as starter for Lafun processing. Significance and Impact of the Study: Starter cultures are made available for controlled fermentation of Lafun. Journal of Applied Microbiology ISSN 1364-5072 1402 Journal compilation ª 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology, Journal of Applied Microbiology 109 (2010) 1402–1410 ª 2010 The Authors