The microbial composition of dried fish prepared according to Greenlandic Inuit traditions and industrial counterparts

TY - JOUR

T1 - The microbial composition of dried fish prepared according to Greenlandic Inuit traditions and industrial counterparts

AU - Hauptmann, Aviaja L.

AU - Paulová, Petronela

AU - Castro-Mejía, Josué L.

AU - Hansen, Lars H.

AU - Sicheritz-Pontén, Thomas

AU - Mulvad, Gert

AU - Nielsen, Dennis S.

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The practices of preparing traditional foods in the Arctic are rapidly disappearing. Traditional foods of the Arctic represent a rarity among food studies in that they are meat-sourced and prepared in non-industrial settings. These foods, generally consumed without any heating step prior to consumption, harbor an insofar undescribed microbiome. The food-associated microbiomes have implications not only with respect to disease risk, but might also positively influence host health by transferring a yet unknown diversity of live microbes to the human gastrointestinal tract. Here we report the first study of the microbial composition of traditionally dried fish prepared according to Greenlandic traditions and their industrial counterparts. We show that dried capelin prepared according to traditional methods have microbiomes clearly different from industrially prepared capelin, which also have more homogenous microbiomes than traditionally prepared capelin. Interestingly, the locally preferred type of traditionally dried capelin, described to be tastier than other traditionally dried capelin, contains bacteria that potentially confer distinct taste. Finally, we show that dried cod have comparably more homogenous microbiomes when compared to capelin and that in general, the environment of drying is a major determinant of the microbial composition of these indigenous food products.

AB - The practices of preparing traditional foods in the Arctic are rapidly disappearing. Traditional foods of the Arctic represent a rarity among food studies in that they are meat-sourced and prepared in non-industrial settings. These foods, generally consumed without any heating step prior to consumption, harbor an insofar undescribed microbiome. The food-associated microbiomes have implications not only with respect to disease risk, but might also positively influence host health by transferring a yet unknown diversity of live microbes to the human gastrointestinal tract. Here we report the first study of the microbial composition of traditionally dried fish prepared according to Greenlandic traditions and their industrial counterparts. We show that dried capelin prepared according to traditional methods have microbiomes clearly different from industrially prepared capelin, which also have more homogenous microbiomes than traditionally prepared capelin. Interestingly, the locally preferred type of traditionally dried capelin, described to be tastier than other traditionally dried capelin, contains bacteria that potentially confer distinct taste. Finally, we show that dried cod have comparably more homogenous microbiomes when compared to capelin and that in general, the environment of drying is a major determinant of the microbial composition of these indigenous food products.

KW - 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing

KW - Animal-sourced

KW - Desiccation

KW - Inuit

KW - Microbiota

KW - Traditional foods

U2 - 10.1016/j.fm.2019.103305

DO - 10.1016/j.fm.2019.103305

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31500717

AN - SCOPUS:85070572553

SN - 0740-0020

VL - 85

JO - Food Microbiology

JF - Food Microbiology

M1 - 103305

ER -