فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Background: The benefits of fermented foods consumption have been demonstrated ina number of research reports. These qualities have been demonstrated, for example, toreduce childhood diseases such as diarrhea and malnutrition. Thus, fermented foods may berecommended for improving the health and nutritional quality of traditional African foods andregular inclusion of fermented foods as part of the daily diet would be desirable. Aims: Lack ofknowledge and understanding toward fermented food preparation may limit their usage. Thisstudy explores the South African community’s understanding of fermented foods preparationand usage. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study using focus group interviews todetermine the community’s understanding and their perception of fermented foods preparationin the rural villages of Odi, in Gauteng Province between May and June 2012. The targetpopulation was the caregivers of children under 5 years, attending the hospital’s antenatalclinic at the time of study. The information was transcribed, coded, and analyzed using NVivosoftware. Results: Most caregivers were aware of food fermentation process, and some ofthem could not clearly differentiate between fermented and unfermented foods. Althoughmost participants knew what fermented foods were, there were misconceptions on how theywere made. This was exemplified by the undesirable artifacts, labeled as ingredients, in thefermentation process. Conclusion: Caregivers demonstrated a fair knowledge of fermentedfoods but lack a standard preparation procedure for these foods. There is an urgent need toeducate communities and conduct a health promotion campaign on the fermented foods andprobiotics.