Acetic acid bacteria in fermented foods and beverages

•Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are commonly found in naturally fermented foods.•MALDI-TOF MS facilitates the dereplication and identification of AAB.•The functional role of AAB in food fermentation processes is underestimated.•AAB are promising starter cultures to produce fermented foods and beverages.

Although acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are commonly found in spontaneous or backslopped fermented foods and beverages, rather limited knowledge about their occurrence and functional role in natural food fermentation ecosystems is available. Not only is their cultivation, isolation, and identification difficult, their cells are often present in a viable but not culturable state. Yet, they are promising starter cultures either to better control known food fermentation processes or to produce novel fermented foods and beverages. This review summarizes the most recent findings on the occurrence and functional role of AAB in natural food fermentation processes such as lambic beer, water kefir, kombucha, and cocoa.

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