Polyphasic study of the spatial distribution of microorganisms in Mexican pozol, a fermented maize dough, demonstrates the need for cultivation-independent methods to investigate traditional fermentations

Polyphasic study of the spatial distribution of microorganisms in Mexican pozol, a fermented maize dough, has been carried out using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. The study demonstrates the need for cultivation-independent methods that do not impose bias for study of traditional fermentations. If more information about the microflora present and active in the fermentation were available, the microbiological quality and safety of the food, balls of which are suspended in water and drunk daily as a beverage, might be improved.