ch. 1. Introduction / Bhavbhuti M. Mehta, Robert Z. Iwanski, and Afaf Kamal-Eldin -- ch. 2. Complex microbial communities as part of fermented food ecosystems and beneficial properties / Muhammad Imran, Nathalie Desmasures, and Jean-Paul Vernoux -- ch. 3. The role of fermentation reactions in the generation of flavor and aroma of foods / Javier Carballo -- ch. 4. Effect of fermentation reactions on rheological properties of foods / Robert Z. Iwanski. [et al.] -- ch. 5. The role of fermentation reactions in changing the color of foods / Esther Sendra. [et al.] -- ch. 6. The role of fermentation in providing biologically active compounds for the human organism / Afaf Kamal-Eldin -- ch. 7. The role of fermentation in the elimination of harmful components present in food raw materials / Aly Savadogo -- ch. 8. Fortification involving products derived from fermentation processes / Peter Berry Ottaway and Sam Jennings -- ch. 9. Fermented cereal and legume products / Afaf Kamal-Eldin -- ch. 10. Fermented vegetables products / Edyta Malinowska-Panczyk -- ch. 11. Fermented dairy products / Bhavbhuti M. Mehta and Marice Nogueira de Oliveira -- ch. 12. Fermented seafood products / Nilesh H. Joshi and Zulema Coppes Petricorena -- ch. 13. Fermented meat products / Kazimierz Lachowicz, Joanna Zochowska-Kujawska, and Malgorzata Sobczak -- ch. 14. Process control in food fermentation / Robert Tylingo -- ch. 15. Final remarks / Bhavbhuti M. Mehta and Afaf Kamal-Eldin.