Preliminary results for application of culture-independent molecular methods to olive brines bacterial communities.

Transformation of green table olives requires a brining stage during which olives ferment. In naturally transformed olives, both flavour improvement and debittering are associated to fermentation. Because of brine features, naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts are progressively selected by the high salt concentration, low pH and phenolic compounds with antimicrobial activity. The establishment of an adequate fermenting microflora is essential to obtain a good and safe product; then, during transformation, control of chemical and microbiological parameters is crucial. Currently, microflora is periodically monitored by plate-counting of main groups. These routine analyses, however, don’t s…