Propionibacteria in fermented vegetables

This paper presents the results of the application of propionibacteria (PAB ) to the production of fermented vegetables: sauerkraut, red beet juice and vegetable salads. The addition of PAB to the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) us ed in the fermentation led to increases in folacin, vitamin B-12, propionic and acetic acid contents, inhibition of harmful and pathogenic microorgani sms and the extension of the shelf-life of the products. Products made with PAS usually had better organoleptic characteristics than products made onl y with LAB. In long fermentations, such as for sauerkraut, substantial amou nts of metabolites from PAB were produced during processing and storage. On the other hand, in short fermentations, such as for red beet juice, the co ncentration of metabolites in the final product depended predominantly on t heir concentration in the inoculum of PAB used. (C) Inra/Elsevier, Paris.