This volume in the Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals Series focuses on fermented food products, their production processes, and nutritional and health benefits. It presents the latest research on how fermentation of a food changes its composition, adds new nutrients, produces active ingredients or increases the bioavailability of nutrients, and how the live bacteria in some fermented foods enhance their nutritive health value. This is the first reference to describe the production of a wide range of fermented food products, the bacteria or yeast involved in the fermentation process, the changes that occur to the food as a result of fermentation, and the impact these changes may have on the health and disease resistance properties of the food.