LACTOBACILLUS-PLANTARUM SURVIVAL IN AEROBIC, DIRECTLY BRINED OLIVES

Storage at 20 degrees C improved Lactobacillus plantarum survival in d irectly brined olives. The best inoculation dates were on the first an d fifth days after brining for Cacerena and Hojiblanca cultivars respe ctively. Lb. plantarum was present throughout the storage period only in Hojiblanca olives covered with initial free-salt solution and inocu lated on the fifth day. In the presence of that bacterium, titratable acidity (0.5-1%) and pH (<4.0) reached proper values for olive preserv ation. Yeast populations, consisting of Pichia membranaefaciens and Pi chia fermentans, in Hojiblanca, and Pichia minuta, Pichia fermentans, Pichia membranaefaciens, and Rodotorula spp, in Cacerena, were found i n all treatments.