Preview: Stanford University Fermented Food Conference

Next Thursday and Friday, September 4-5, I’ll be at a Fermented Food Conference, at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California. I heard about the event from Jo Webster in the UK, who will be showcasing her research into dried kimchi (fermentceuticals).

For those unable to be there in person, there’s the option to attend remotely for just $40. Details are at the end of this post.

The event is a cornucopia of workshops featuring chefs, scientists, and fermentation experts from around the globe. I plan to meet with some of the presenters to further explore fermentation as it relates to kombucha. I’ve listed some of the questions I would like to ask in quotes below. If anyone can suggest additional questions I should ask these experts, please email ian@boochnews.com and I’ll try and get answers at the conference.

Agenda

Keynote Address

Rob Dunn Cultivating Mutualism with Other Species: Responding to the Call of the Honeyguide and the Stink of the Bacillus. A biologist, writer, and professor in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University. His books include The Wild Life of Our Bodies. His projects include studies of belly button biodiversity (!), mites that live on human faces, ants in backyards, and fungi and bacteria in houses.

The honeyguide [bird] lives in much of Africa, where it eats the wax, brood, and eggs of honeybees … Honeyguide beaks are too small to break into beehives … The problem for humans, though…is in finding the hives. Together, honeyguides could find hives and humans could break them open, which could yield a sweeter life for both man and bird … A honeyguide, when it has found a hive, will come to the nearest house or person. There it will call, “tiya, tiya,” flash the white of its tail, and fly toward whoever is lucky enough to look on. It will continue to do so until someone follows it to a hive. At the hive, it will call again and wait.

— The Wild Life of Our Bodies, pp. 186-87

Lessons from Microbial Ecology

Panel Discussion with:

Benjamin Wolfe, Tufts University, Medford, Mass. is a microbiome scientist with over 20 years of experience in food, environment, and human microbiomes. His research group uses genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, and other tools to monitor and manage microbiomes. He tested 500 sourdough starters from four continents to determine the extent of microbial diversity in an ancient, fermented food across diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds. Household starters are distinct from those in commercial bakeries due to a greater heterogeneity in environments, production practices, and ingredients.

ASK: Are you aware of the study, reported in Booch News (July 2025), conducted by Lou Dillon of Twisted Kombucha who teamed up with artist Eleonora Ortolani + design technologist Malou van der Veld to develop a flavor prediction dataset by analyzing 100+ kombucha brands from the UK, Netherlands and Ireland? They contrast standardize commercial fermentation with the microbial diversity of small-scale producers.

Veronica Sinotte, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Her current research aims to demystify the ecology and evolution of microorganisms in our fermented foods. For example, milk fermentation has a rich history in which food culture, the environment, and microbes intersect. Traditional practices and modern gastronomic applications uses red wood ants to initiate milk fermentation. The ants and their microbes contribute key acids and enzymes to the fermentation process. Her findings highlight the value of integrating traditional, gastronomic, and biological frameworks to uncover the origins and applications of microbes for fermented foods.

ASK: Could insects have played a role in the origins of kombucha in the ancient world?

Chantle Swichkow, Emeryville, California. Has presented a series of unhinged anecdotes from the fermentation side of Reddit, Inc. (here’s looking at you, r/prisonhooch), including Roman accounts of putrifying fish in public, and the Japanese practice of burying oneself in an enzyme bath of fermenting bran used for pickling vegetables. She spent time after her postdoctoral work diving deeply into the academic and evolutionary aspects of fermented foods, while also educating the general public about the wonders of microbes.

Moderated by David Zilber, Copenhagen, Denmark. The New York Times bestselling author of The Noma Guide to Fermentation.

I believe in fermentation wholeheartedly, not only as a way to unlock flavors, but also as a way of making food that feels good to eat. People argue over the correlation between fermented foods and an active gut health. But there’s no denying I personally feel better eating a diet full of fermented products.

— The Noma Guide to Fermentation, p. 17

Lessons from Microbial Communication

Panel Discussion with:

Arielle Johnson, New York, NY. Translates science into creative ideas and tools for the kitchen, and translates the questions and dreams of the kitchen into innovative new ideas for the world—all through the multidimensional lens of flavor. Her book, Flavorama, is a guide to unlocking the art and science of flavor.

Fermentation can make foods more digestible and easier to extract energy from that their raw forms, as well as extending the window of edibility from a few hours or days to a few weeks or months. There are few things that we haven’t applied it to–making vegetables or meat easier to keep and eat long after the hunt or harvest; or converting ripe fruit into long-storing alcohol, superperishable liquid dairy into high-protein, nutritionally dense yogurt and cheese, or hard-to-chew grains into bread and beer. Just about every culture in the world has its own set of fermentations, which have been shaped over time by the animals, plants, and seasons of their local landscape. The flavors of these fermented foods are often lynchpins of cuisine and cultural identity: fish sauces and pastes, wine, sauerkraut, kosher pickles, kimchi, paocai, soy sauce, cheese, beers, ciders, breads, and more.

— Flavorama, p. 251

Mikaela Kasperek, Post Doc Researcher, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research encompasses fermented foods, the gut microbiome, and the complex relationship between fermented food consumption and immunity. Her paper, Ingestion of Fermented Food-Associated Microbial Aryl Metabolites Attenuates High Fat Diet-Induced Liver Lipid Accumulation discusses how the consumption of fermented foods is associated with lower systemic inflammation and improved metabolic health, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

ASK: Her study looked at the effects on 12-week-old male mice. There are a many studies looking at the effects of kombucha on mice. What can we extrapolate from these experiments to the effects on humans? What’s required for scientists to progress from animal to human studies?

Elisa Caffrey, PhD Candidate, Stanford University, California. Her work focuses on fermented foods, characterizing how microbial metabolites produced by food fermentation impact the human gut microbiome and gut endocrine landscape. Her paper Unpacking Food Fermentation: Clinically Relevant Tools for Fermented Food Identification and Consumption synthesizes current scientific evidence on the microbial and metabolite composition of fermented foods, their proposed health effects, and safety considerations for vulnerable populations. Additionally, it highlights the need for standardized definitions, serving sizes, and regulatory frameworks to enhance consumer transparency and research reproducibility. It specifically notes that “foods labeled with vague claims such as “gut-friendly” may not contain live microbes or probiotics at all or any ingredient consistent with the current scientific understanding of having a positive impact on the gut microbiome, intestinal regulation, or overall health.”

ASK: What can commercial kombucha brands do to justify their “gut-friendly” claims?

Moderated by Suzanne Devkota, Cedars-Sinai Human Microbiome Research Institute, Los Angeles, California. Researches the potential influence of the gut microbiome on various risk factors of metabolic syndrome. The gut microbiome and metabolic syndrome discuss the interplay of the intestinal microbiota with host metabolism, which has been shown to be mediated by a myriad of factors, including a defective gut barrier, bile acid metabolism, antibiotic use, and the pleiotropic effects of microbially produced metabolites.

ASK: Can we be confident that fermented foods like kombucha help reduce the health problems that come with metabolic syndrome?

Lessons from Microbial and Human Evolution

Panel Discussion with:

Matthew Carrigan, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, has researched the hypothesis that our proclivities for ethanol have evolutionary roots in frugivorous ancestors, who were exposed to naturally occurring alcohol in ripening fruits. In addition, human ancestors and our close relatives, the chimpanzee and gorilla, acquired a mutation ~10 million years ago that enable them to metabolize ethanol much more efficiently than previous ancestors. Natural fermentation produces ethanol concentrations as high as 3.8% in nectars and 8.1% in fruits, and primates may use the olfactory cues from volatilized alcohols to guide their foraging decisions. Indeed, primates are exceptionally sensitive to the odours of aliphatic alcohols, including ethanol, and at least some prefer to consume solutions with ethanol when they are available. Furthermore, evidence from genes underlying ethanol metabolism suggests that humans have deep-rooted adaptations for the consumption of ethanol, meaning our ancestors were exposed to (and adapted to) substantial amounts of dietary ethanol.

ASK: So is Gen-Z’s embrace of sobriety counter-evolutionary?

John Gibbons, Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. Professor Gibbons is an evolutionary genomicist. His research demonstrates that shortly after the agricultural revolution, the domestication of bacteria, yeasts, and molds played an essential role in enhancing the stability, quality, flavor, and texture of food products. These domestication events were probably the result of human food production practices that entailed the continual recycling of isolated microbial communities in the presence of abundant agricultural food sources. Additionally, there is growing evidence that ethanol is present in many wild fruits, saps, and nectars and that ethanol ingestion offers benefits that favour adaptations for its use in multiple taxa. Explanations for ethanol consumption span both the nutritional and non-nutritional, with potential medicinal value or cognitive effects (with social–behavioural benefits) explored. We conclude that ethanol is ecologically relevant and that it has shaped the evolution of many species and structured symbiotic relationships among organisms, including plants, yeast, bacteria, insects, and mammals.

ASK: Does the evolutionary evidence undermine the advice from Stanford Professor Randall Stafford, and others, that people eliminate alcohol?

Christina Warinner, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. is an American anthropologist best known for her research on the evolution of ancient microbiomes. Her research suggests that gut microbiomes of urban-industrialized societies are different from those of traditional peoples. The gut microbiomes of traditional societies are composed of a larger number of phylogenetically diverse taxa, while the gut microbiomes of industrialized societies are composed of fewer closely related taxa.

ASK: Can fermented foods like kombucha help people in modern societies restore their gut bacteria to be more like the diverse gut bacteria that traditional populations have?

Moderated by Justin Sonnenburg, Stanford University, California. Justin Sonnenburg is a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford Medicine, known for his work on the human gut microbiome. His research focuses on how the gut microbiota affects health and disease, with an emphasis on developing strategies to improve it through diet and other interventions. He is the co-author of  The Good Gut, with his wife and collaborator, Erica Sonnenburg.

The earliest record of fermented food consumption is more than eight thousand years old, and at least one type of fermented food is part of every culture’s history.Through fermentation, living bacteria start the process of digestion for us…The microbes in fermented food provides two health-promoting functions: reducing the sugar content of food, and interacting with the gut and microbiota. Observations dating back over a century suggest that people who consume a lot of fermented foods reap the benefits.

— The Good Gut, p. 88

Lessons from the Gut Microbiome

Panel Discussion with:

Paul Cotter, Head of Food Biosciences, Teagasc, Fermoy, Ireland. Professor Cotter was an author of the seminal paper The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on fermented foods. This notes that “The manufacture of some fermented foods (for example, most beers and wines) includes steps to remove live microorganisms from finished products. Although microbial inactivation or removal is not common to all fermentation processes, these products still qualify as fermented foods.” It further notes that “the term ‘probiotic’ should only be used when there is a demonstrated health benefit conferred by well-defined and characterized live microorganisms. The health benefit must, at least in part, be due to the live microorganisms and must extend beyond any nutritional benefit of the food matrix.” Further, “the label “contains probiotics” should only be used when the strains in the fermented food are defined to the strain level, the genome sequences are known and the strains are present at an appropriate number during product shelf-life”. Finally, “Some manufacturers supplement fermented foods with microorganisms after a heat treatment, perhaps to satisfy consumer interest in adding live microorganisms to their diet. These products, in our view, do not reflect the expected characteristics of fermented foods containing live microorganisms.”

ASK: What are the implications for commercial kombucha brands who include ‘probiotic’ on their labels?

Sean Spencer, Gastroenterologist and Physician Scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.Dr. Spencer collaborates with Justin Sonnenburg to investigate the mechanisms by which dietary intake affects our microbiome and immune system, aiming to understand better and treat gastrointestinal diseases. Sean has launched a microbiome-focused clinical practice at Stanford, where he is working to develop novel microbiome diagnostics and microbial medicines.

ASK: What microbiome diagnostic tools are available to the average person? Can he recommend any commercial tests?

Niccolò Carlino, Bioinformatic Scientist, Trento, Italy, has studied a collection of over 2,500 food metagenomes, revealing a vast variety of previously undescribed microbial species. Specifically, pulque and fermented teas including kombucha and pu-erh were the types that carried the higher fraction of unknown Species-Level Genome Bins (uSGBs).

ASK: When will know what the unknown SGBs in kombucha are — or will they remain “unknown unknowns”?

Moderated by Erica Sonnenburg, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, specializing in the impact of diet on the human gut microbiota. Her research, often conducted in collaboration with her husband, Justin Sonnenburg, focuses on understanding the complex microbial communities in the gut and their influence on health. She is the co-author with her husband Justin of The Good Gut (above).

Lessons from Understudied and Novel Ferments

Panel Discussion with:

 Aviâja Hauptmann, Nuuk, Greenland. Dr. Hauptmann is an Inuk microbiologist from Greenland, specializing in Arctic foodways and microbiology. She collaborated on research around the microbial aspects of Indigenous Greenlandic fermented foods. Her work highlights the importance of traditional Inuit foods, particularly fermented animal-sourced items, in understanding human-microbe interactions and promoting food sovereignty. The food-associated microbiomes may positively influence host health by transferring an unknown diversity of live microbes to the human gastrointestinal tract.

ASK: How can modern people improve their gut bacteria? Will fermented foods give us gut bacteria as good as traditional Arctic people have?

Joshua Evans, Copenhagen, Denmark, leads a research group at the Danish Technical University’s Center for Biosustainability, called Sustainable Food Innovation. They utilize culinary research and development to create flavorful, sustainable foods, natural sciences to study their functionality, and social sciences to explore how they can contribute to food culture. Much of the work revolves around microbes and fermentation, exploring how they connect flavor, sustainability, and biodiversity. His paper on Fermentation Fetishism and the Emergence of a Political Zymology notes that “compost and kombucha are touchstones for new forms of generally leftist politics among humans and between humans and other organisms. Advocates argue that fermentation offers models not just to live and let live but serves as a practical and conceptual guide for rectifying social injustices and reshaping society toward a better, progressive future… Advancing Sandor Katz’s vision, these scholars suggest that fermentation provides ‘cues for agitating the social order around us’ is ‘a valuable tool for thinking and enacting change’, and ‘a new metaphor for the complex, messy politics of today [that] may… help provide new narratives of social change’. In this model, collaborative, emergent, heterarchical relationships among microbes are a model for the relationships to which humans might aspire, whether with microbes or with the living world in general.”

ASK: So will kombucha always be “woke”?

Erica Sonnenburg (Above)

Moderated by Rob Dunn (Above)

Future of Fermented Foods and Sustainability

Panel Discussion with:

Douglas McMaster, London, England is a Michelin-starred chef leading the way towards a zero-waste food system. In 2014, he opened the world’s first zero waste restaurant, Silo, which serves food that would otherwise have been wasted in the name of fine dining. Later in 2019, he outlined the concept behind Silo in a book titled Silo: The Zero Waste Blueprint.

Small, local breweries can regenerate the earth through urban composting. A new fermentation culture will preserve traditions and empower plant knowledge. The Old Tree Brewery — a brewery that operates like an old tree — is the craft drink maker at Silo, combining brewing and gardening to make nourishing drinks. Plants and microbes are harnessed for good in cultivated ‘drinks forests’, in which all the organic nutrients are composted. Food-forestry and fermentation are combined for health and earth repair, making a world in which we can eat and drink our own gardens — and our gardens are everywhere.

— Silo: The Zero Waste Blueprint, p. 69

Andrew Luzmore, Brooklyn, New York, NY. At his Michelin-starred restaurant Blue Hill, Luzmore experimented by placing Neurospora fungus mold on top of stale bread. Once the 36-hour fermentation process was complete, Luzmore took the concoction and fried it up. The result was something that looked and tasted remarkably like a toasted cheese sandwich even though no cheese or dairy products were involved. The underlying genetic structure of the fungus revealed something even more interesting; multiple enzymes capable of breaking down indigestible plant material, such as pectin and glucose, and transforming it into material digestible by humans.

ASK: Does Blue Hill have kombucha on the menu?

Vayu Hill-Maini, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, is building synthetic biology tools for fungi to unlock discoveries within mycology, address sustainability challenges, and enable gastronomic creativity. His favorite fungi are Neurospora intermedia and chantarelles (both orange!).

Moderated by David Zilber (Above)

Future of Fermented Foods and Health

Panel Discussion with

Maria Marco, UC Davis, California, researches probiotic bacteria, food fermentations, and intestinal health, with a specialization in lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, phyllosphere microbiology, gut microbiology, microbial ecology, and dietary fiber. Her paper The Role of the Gut Microbiome in Predicting Response to Diet and the Development of Precision Nutrition Models-Part I: Overview of Current Methods. is the first in a 2-part review of current research investigating the contribution of the gut microbiota to interindividual variability in response to diet.

ASK: When will we see more human studies exploring the benefits of fermented foods and beverages?

Dalia Perelman, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, studies dietary impact on the microbial composition and metabolism in the gut; the variables affecting energy expenditure; and the personalization of diets to optimize health including the study of personal responses to foods on blood glucose levels, and the effect of weight gain on insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.

ASK: Will drinking a daily 16oz bottle of commercial kombucha with 12-16 g of sugar spike A1c levels (asking for a friend.)

Elizabeth Schenider, University College Cork, Ireland, investigates the relationship between the gut microbiota and brain health, highlighting its potential role as a mediator in nutrition-related processes.

Moderated by Suzanne Devkota (Above)

Special Presentation

Andoni Luis Aduriz and Ramón Perisé Moré of Mugaritz Restaurant, San Sebastian, Spain. Mugaritz is a world-renowned Spanish restaurant that opened in March 1998 under the management of Chef Andoni Aduriz. According to Restaurant Magazine and is ranked among the top 10 best restaurants in the world.

Andoni Luis Aduriz is considered one of the most influential chefs of our time. A patron of the Basque Culinary Center and a member of the Tufts Nutrition Council, he builds bridges between seemingly unrelated worlds. This pioneering attitude gives rise to theater performances with La Fura dels Baus and to the promotion of diverse documentaries such as Mugaritz BSO and Off-Road: Mugaritz, Feeling a Way.

ASK: How far in advance do people need to make reservations at Mugaritz? And do you have kombucha on the menu?

Ramón Perisé Moré, is R&D Head Chef at Mugaritz, and the Chef and Technical Director at Spain’s AMA Brewery which produces pét-nat tea kombucha. What began as a guerrilla group of friends brewing new-wave, aged kombucha in a garage lock-up on a San Sebastian back-street, evolved into a fully-fledged R&D facility. “When a German kombucha enthusiast sent him his first scoby through the post, he started looking at the possibilities more radically, and when some of his early bottles exploded after he inadvertently left them to age for several weeks, he realised aging was the key. Those that remained had reached the point of excellence he was looking for.”

ASK: Tell us the story of AMA Brewery.

Books by conference presenters

Meanwhile, some preparatory reading to catch up on!

Online access

Those unable to attend the conference in person can follow the proceedings remotely (9:00 am – 5:00 pm Pacific) for $40 by registering for online access. This is a 2-step process that starts by creating a Stanford Payment account. Once you are registered, go to the ‘Select a Merchant to Pay’ screen and scroll down to find the Stanford Fermented Foods Conference.

UPDATE: The organizers confirm that online access includes recorded presentations for those unable to login in during the event.