Lactic acid fermentation is the commonest and inexpensive traditionalrnhousehold food manufacturing method.rn"Injera" and "Kocho" are two major Ethiopian lactic acid fermentedrnfoods.rnInjera is a pancake-like bread baked from "Tef" (Eragrostis tef) orrnother cereals' flour fermented for two to three days.rnKocho is a product of "Ensete" plant (Ensete ventricosum) pitfermentedrnfor few weeks to several months. It is then baked andrnconsumed Members of the Enterobacteriaceae family initiate tef doughrnfermentation. They lower the pH from about 6.3 to 4.7. Lactic acidrnbacteria(LAB)- Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, streptococcus andrnPediococcus species succeed and further lower the pH to or belowrn4.00. Species of Bacillus degrade the starch.rnKocho fermentation was found to be initiated by Leuconostoc spp. andrnthe other LAB follow to lower the pH. A properly fermented kocho hasrna pH of 4-4.5 and contains a large number of LAB. Yeasts and moldsrnwere also common at lower pH values in both foods.rnLactic acid bacteria were known to prevent food-borne pathogens and spoilage bacteria from growing in fermenting foods using theirrnantibiotic metabolites.rnNevertheless, inhibitory effect of fermenting tef or fermented kochornon such undesirable organisms was not known.rnHence, in this study effect of these two acidic foods and also theirrncomponents in broth on certain disease-causing and spoilage bacteria was determined.rnThe results showed that tef dough began inhibition after 30 h ofrnfermentation (pH 4.7). This period had maximum nutrient availabilityrnand best inhibitory activity among all fermentation periods in tef.rnFermented kocho (pH 4.3) was inhibitory except for B. cereus. It alsorninhibited best at lower concentrations but higher pH values among allrnagents employed.rnSpent media from the LAB inhibited growth of most test bacteria wherernStreptococcus spp. did the best amongst the group.rnThe pH decline as a result of introducing acetic and/or lactic acidrnto broth was much higher than anyone of the other agents. Therefore,rnthe inhibitory activity of the foods or the LAB was due tornantibiotics elaborated-by the LAB and some species of Bacillus.rnHeat treatment of tef dough or kocho extract also seemed to have arnpromotion effect on antimicrobial potency of the extracts.rnSporeforming bacteria, yeasts and molds survived baking temperature,rnbut much lowered to low populations.rnFurthermore, tef dough fermented uptornproperly fermented kocho (to about pHrn30-48rn4.3)rnh (pH 4. 1-4 â€¢ 7 ) andrnboth baked beforernconsumption were found as safe foods from food-borne infections andrnspoilage bacteria.rnFurther studies on these two foods and their micro flora werernrecommended.