Lactobacillus pentosus is the dominant species in spoilt packaged Alorena de Malaga table olives

The present study focused on investigating a peculiar spoilage of traditional Alorena de Malaga table olives characterized by the formation of whitish and soft regions on the olive surface. To determine its causes, the main microbiological and physicochemical changes in 50 commercial packages were monitored until the alteration in appearance (63 days). Colour and firmness of fruits deteriorated progressively in the packaged olives during storage. Sugar in brines (7.5 g/L.) remained stable during the first month and then decreased gradually (5.0 g/L.) while, in parallel, the lactic acid bacteria population and titratable acidity increased. After two months of storage, evidence of spoilage was noticed, coinciding with the maximal lactic acid bacteria populations in fruit (>6.5 log(10) CFU/g). The spoilage affected similar to 25% of the fruits within packages. The microbial species detected in the product after packaging were Enterobacter gergoviae and Lactobacillus plantarum among bacteria, and Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis, and Lodderomyces elongisporus among the yeasts while Lactobacillus pentosus was the dominant species in the spoilt packages. A specific biotype of L. pentosus was only detected in the damaged fruits. Further studies will be made to confirm the association between the spoilage and the presence of this L. pentosus biotype. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.