The Use ofLactobacillus pentosus1MO To Shorten the Debittering Process Time of Black Table Olives (Cv. Itrana and Leccino):  A Pilot-Scale Application

Abstract

Fifty lactobacilli isolated from black table olive brines were evaluated for their salt tolerance, resistance to oleuropein and verbascoside, and ability to grow in modified filter-sterilized brines. A strain of Lactobacillus pentosus was selected and used as a starter to ferment, in pilot plant, black olives (Itrana and Leccino cv.) in brines modified for pH, carbohydrate, and growth factor concentrations, at 28 degrees C. The temperature-controlled fermentation of Leccino cv. olives resulted in obtaining ready-to-eat, high-quality table olives in a reduced-time process. HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds from fermented olives showed a decrease of oleuropein, a glucoside secoiridoid responsible for the bitter taste of olive drupes, and an increase of the hydroxytyrosol concentration. The selected strain of L. pentosus (1MO) allowed the reduction of the debittering phase period to 8 days.

Evaluation of different conditions to enhance the performances of Lactobacillus pentosus OM13 during industrial production of Spanish-style table olives

“…Several studies have been performed to select the most adapted lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to be used as starters for table olive production (Servili et al, 2006;Aponte et al, 2012;Rodríguez-Gomez et al, 2013;Zago et al, 2013). The spontaneous fermentation, although still widely applied for table olive transformation, is an uncontrolled biological process.…”

An innovative method to produce green table olives based on “pied de cuve” technology

“…The International Olive Council (IOC) estimated a total world production of 2.5 million tons for the 2012/2013 campaign, and about 76.000 tons of this production is obtained in Italy (IOC, 2013). Olive drupes, just after harvest, cannot be eaten due to the presence of oleuropein that is a bitter phenolic glucoside consisting of glucose, elenolic acid and odiphenol hydroxytyrosol compounds (Servili et al, 2006). A variety of technological methods are commonly applied during transformation to reduce the bitterness of table olives.…”

“…"Spanish" (also known as "Sevillan") and "Greek" (also known as "natural") processing styles are the methods most quantitatively employed in Italy for table olive production (Catania et al, 2014). Most table olive fermentation processes start spontaneously (Silvestri et al, 2009;Tofalo et al, 2013), whereas several productions at industrial level are driven by Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus (Lu et al, 2003;Servili et al, 2006;Hurtado et al, 2012).…”

“…This procedure limits the risk of undesired aromatic notes (Servili et al, 2006;Peres et al, 2008;Sabatini et al, 2008;Aponte et al, 2012). However, when a given starter preparation, composed of a limited number of strains, is used to ferment different varieties of olives of different geographical areas a flattening of the taste of table olives may occur, with the risk that the final products may no longer be distinguishable by production technology and/or geographical origin.…”

Investigation of a tunnel pasteurizer for “Nocellara del Belice” table olives processed according to the “Castelvetrano method”

“…Due to the presence of oleuropein, a glucoside composed of glucose, elenolic acid and o-diphenol hydroxytyrosol (Servili et al, 2006), olive drupes cannot be eaten just after harvesting because of their unpleasant bitter taste. Hence, olive drupes undergo a transformation process before consumption and the resulting products, namely "table olives", are classified in treated olives, natural olives, olives darkened by oxidation, dehydrated and/or shriveled olives and specialties (IOCC, 2004).…”