Tempeh is a fermented food made of mainly soybeans and is a nutritious, affordable, and sustainable functional source of protein. Globally, tempeh is a widely accepted fermented product. Although there is a growing body of literature on tempeh, most research has focused on unfermented soybeans, thus the impact of tempeh fermentation on biological properties of soybeans has been largely left scattered. The objective of this review is to summarize the literature of tempeh fermentation over the past 60 years. A search of articles on tempeh published from 1960 to 2020 was performed using the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EBSCOhost FSTA database, and Google Scholar. References from identified articles were reviewed for additional sources. In total, 321 papers were selected for this review, of which 64 papers were related to the health benefits of tempeh. This review concluded that sufficient evidence exists in the literature supporting tempeh fermentation as a low‐cost, health‐promoting, and sustainable food processing technology to produce protein‐rich foods using various beans, legumes, and grains. This comprehensive review suggests further studies are needed on tempeh fermentation and its impact on human health; research and standardization of nonsoy tempeh; assessment of food safety‐improving modification in tempeh production system; and initiatives supporting the sourcing of local ingredients in tempeh production.

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As rising populations cause more demand for food, Southeast Asian residents will depend increasingly on plant sources, rather than animal sources, for their dietary protein and calorie needs. Tempeh and other fermented vegetable protein products already are familiar parts of the diet throughout Southeast Asia. The low cost production process also provides protection against aflatoxin contamination, an important consideration. All these factors indicate that fermented foods will play a larger role in the future diet for millions of people in Southeast Asia.

SUMMARY –EDTA, in concentrations above 2.5 mM, was found inhibitory to germination of and outgrowth from spores of C. botulinum Type A and to toxin production in a fish homogenate. Inhibitory action was influenced by pH of the medium in the range pH 6.5–8.1, the action increasing with pH. It was influenced by Mg and Ca concentrations in the medium, equimolar concentrations of added CaCl2 or MgCl2, completely erasing the growth inhibitory action. Initial spore concentration also influenced inhibitory efficacy–the higher the spore concentration, the higher the EDTA concentration required for inhibition. There was no evidence that EDTA, in any concentration used, promoted spore germination. Release of Ca, Mg and DPA from incubating spores was suppressed to varying extents by 5.0 and 10 mM EDTA.

SUMMARY— Death of spores of Clostridium botulinum when exposed to gaseous ethylene oxide followed first order kinetics. Supplementation of a synthetic medium with the purine and pyrimidine bases of DNA and RNA indicated, as judged by outgrowth from spores which had received sublethal ETO treatments, that the lethal action of ETO on the spores was through alkylation of the guanine and adenine components of DNA. Observed impairment of RNA and protein synthesis was considered an indirect effect resulting from alkylation of DNA components; however, additional evidence bearing on this point is needed to support a more definite conclusion.