A one-stop network, the first of its kind in North America, has begun sharing easily digested research, recipes and other resources about the health benefits of fermented foods.

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Source: St. Joseph’s Health Care London

Scientist Jeremy Burton of Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, heads one of Canada’s largest gut microbiome programs. He has spearheaded a North-American first: the Canadian Fermented Foods Initiative, which connects fermented-foods health research with consumers and the food industry.

The new Canadian Fermented Foods Initiative (CFFI) launches officially on Nov. 17 with a gathering of research and industry experts from across the country and Europe.

The collaboration helps consumers, researchers, health professionals and food industry share trusted, science-based expertise and information about fermented foods.

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Funded by the Weston Family Foundation, the initiative is led by Jeremy Burton, PhD, who heads of one of Canada’s largest microbiome research programs and is Interim Vice President Research at St. Joseph’s Health Care London and Lawson Research Institute. His research leadership is joined by Raylene Reimer, PhD, professor of nutrition at the University of Calgary; and University of Alberta professor Ben Willing, PhD, former Canada Research Chair in Microbiology of Nutrigenomics.

Ferment-ceuticals

Fermented foods such as sourdough bread, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha offer more than just good taste and an economical way to preserve food, Burton says. Large, population-based studies show people who eat fermented foods are generally healthier, with fewer digestive issues and lower risk of chronic diseases.

“How exactly does that work – and why? Well, that’s the big question we’re trying to solve,” Burton says. “One day, I believe, ‘ferment-ceuticals’ will be engrained in our diets and our health vocabulary.”

St. Joseph’s is a leader in the field. A paper authored by the team and published this week in Advances in Nutrition represents the most comprehensive synthesis to date of research on fermented foods and human health.

Back in vogue

Connor Flynn, a London, Ont., chef, master food preserver and high school teacher whose video recipes are included in the CFFI website, adds, “Fermenting foods is an old practice that’s never fallen out of flavour, but has sometimes fallen out of favour to North Americans. Now it has become popular again.”

To learn more about the CFFI, including fermented food recipes, head to fermentedfoods.ca.

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