Foods special issue "Special issue "Characterization of Food Fermentation Processes, and Food-Microbiota Load and Composition”

We are living in the microbiota era. Like never before, the role of microorganisms is becoming increasingly relevant in all ecosystems, including the human ecosystem. While a great deal of justified attention has been—and will continue to be—paid to the role of gut microbiota on human health, recent years have seen less scientific efforts directed to understanding the role of microorganisms in food fermentation processes, and more in general towards the understanding of the role of food microbiota load and composition on human health. Compared to past years, we now have technologies that allow us to obtain a precise and accurate description of the microbial communities involved in a fermentation process, together with a detailed picture of those microorganisms that are associated with a fresh or fermented food, in terms of taxonomy, functions, and absolute amount. How can microorganisms survive in a food matrix? Which metabolic interactions occur among different microorganisms during a fermentation process? What is the total amount of live microbial cells we ingest with the diet? Do those food-associated microorganisms have a role in human health? These and other questions should be addressed in the Special Issue “Characterization of Food Fermentation Processes, Food Microbiota Load, and Microbiota Composition” https://www.mdpi.com/journal/foods/special_issues/food_fermant_microb