Molecular Techniques for Elucidating the Microbiology of African Fermented Products

African fermented foods are rich in microbial diversity, which significantly influences their safety, nutritional quality and sensory properties. Traditional culture-dependent (CD) methods have long been utilised to study these microbial communities, but their limitations include low sensitivity to viable but non-culturable organisms and a bias towards cultivable species. This limitation has prompted a growing adoption of culture-independent (CID) molecular techniques, such as PCR-DGGE, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and high-throughput sequencing, which allow for more comprehensive profiling of both culturable and non-culturable microbes. Recent developments in metagenomics and next-generation sequencing technologies have enabled detailed investigations into the taxonomy, functionality and dynamics of microbial populations in fermented African foods, unveiling novel and previously undetected microbial taxa. This chapter presents a critical review of molecular techniques (both CD and CID methodologies) as applied to African fermented products, highlighting their respective principles, applications, limitations and technical developments. The chapter also emphasises the importance of characterisation for improving food safety and understanding microbial interaction and diversity.