title: Effect of the mechanical harvest of drupes on the quality characteristics of green fermented table olives.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Because of damage caused by mechanical harvesting, the drupes for table olive production are traditionally hand harvested. Until now, no data have been available on the microbiological and chemical features of mechanically harvested drupes during fermentation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drupes mechanically harvested and inoculated with Lactobacillus pentosus OM13 were characterized by the lowest concentrations of potential spoilage microorganisms. On the other hand, drupes mechanically harvested and subjected to spontaneous fermentation showed the highest concentration of Enterobacteriaceae and pseudomonads during transformation. The lowest decrease of pH (4.20) was registered for the trials inoculated with the starter culture. Differences in terms of volatile organic compounds were estimated among trials. Multivariate analysis showed that the olives processed from the drupes mechanically harvested and inoculated with starter were closely related to control production (drupes manually harvested) in terms of microbiological and pH values. Sensory analysis evidenced negative evaluations only for the uninoculated trials.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Drupes mechanically harvested and subjected to a driven fermentation with Lactobacillus pentosus OM13 determined the production of table olives with appreciable organoleptic features. Thus mechanical harvesting performed using a trunk shaker equipped with an inverse umbrella and the addition of starter lactic acid bacteria represents a valuable alternative to manual harvesting for table olive production at the industrial level.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martorana
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alfonzo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Settanni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Onofrio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Corona
authors.affiliation: Geolive Belice SAS, Castelvetrano, Trapani, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: La Croce
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziano
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moschetti
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Francesca
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology; D063427:Food Quality; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D031658:Olea / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D012677:Sensation; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Lactobacillus pentosus OM13; Nocellara del Belice table olive fermentation; lactic acid bacteria; manual harvest; mechanical harvest; yeasts