Lactic acid bacteria compose a group of bacteria that degrade carbohydrate (e.g., fermentation) with the production of lactic acid. Examples of genera that contain lactic acid bacteria include Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Leuconostoc.

The production of lactic acid has been used for a long time in food production (e.g., yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, sausage,). Since the 1970s, the popularity of fermented foods such as kefir, kuniss, and tofu that were formally confined to certain ethnically oriented cuisines, has greatly increased.

Generally, lactic acid bacteria are Gram-positive bacteria that do not form spores and which are able to grow both in the presence and absence of oxygen. Another common trait of lactic acid bacteria is their inability to manufacture the many compounds that they need to survive and grow. Most of the nutrients must be present in the environment in which the bacteria reside...