Characterization and Implications of Enterobacter cloacae Strains, Isolated from Italian Table Olives "Bella Di Cerignola" |
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Authors: | Antonio Bevilacqua Marianna Cannarsi Mariangela Gallo Milena Sinigaglia Maria Rosaria Corbo |
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Affiliation: | Authors Bevilacqua, Cannarsi, Gallo, Sinigaglia, and Corbo are with Dept. of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science. Authors Bevilacqua, Sinigaglia, and Corbo are with Istituto per la Ricerca e le Applicazioni Biotecnologiche per la Sicurezza e la Qualità, Univ. of Foggia, Italy. Direct inquiries to author Corbo (E-mail: ). |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACT: Enterobacter cloacae can be recovered in the spontaneous fermentations of Italian table olives. In this study, the effects of salt (20 to 100 g/L), temperature (10 to 37 °C), pH (4 to 5 and 8 to 10), p -coumaric and vanillic acids (0.5 to 2 g/L), and the acidification of the medium through lactic, citric, and ascorbic acids were investigated on 15 strains of E. cloacae , isolated from Italian table olives "Bella di Cerignola." Finally, a confirmatory experiment in synthetic brine was run. The strains were inhibited only by an NaCl amount of 70 to 80 g/L and by p -coumaric acid; on the other hand, they showed the ability to grow also at low temperatures (10 to 15 °C). The confirmatory experiment highlighted their ability to survive both at 15 °C and at pH 5. Enterobacter cloacae could be a real problem for the fermentation of table olives in southern Italy; some hurdles could be used (salt or brine acidification), but some environmental conditions (for example, the temperature) should be controlled carefully to maintain olive safety at acceptable levels. |
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Keywords: | Enterobacter cloacae organic acids pH phenols salt table olives |
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