Study of green Sicilian table olive fermentations through microbiological,chemical and sensory analyses

The production of five different green table olive cultivars was studied by a combined strategy consisting of chemical, microbiological and sensory analyses. Cultivable microflora of samples collected during processing was monitored by plate counts on seven synthetic culture media. In all samples Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonaceae, staphylococci, lactic acid bacteria and spore-forming bacteria were undetectable. Yeasts and moulds were countable from the day 42 (2 log CFU/ml) till the end of fermentation (6 log CFU/ml). The use of three different approaches for microorganism detection, including a culture-independent methodology, revealed the presence of barely three yeast species during the entire fermentation period: Candida parapsilosis, Pichia guilliermondii and Pichia kluyveri. Biochemical features of technological interest were evaluated for 94 strains in order to investigate their potential role in fermentation of green Sicilian table olives.