Color of fruits is a relevant parameter to determine ripeness and optimal harvest time. For olives 6 ripening phases based on skin color distribution have been defined. A widely used method by the olive oil and table olives producers is to inspect the olive surface, and estimate the color and ripening phase visually. This method is simple but it is highly subjective and imprecise. This paper pr...

"Greek-style" Moroccan black table olives were screened for potent odorants by GC/olfactometry/aroma extract dilution analysis of representative Likens-Nickerson extracts and compared with "Spanish-style" green fruits. ( Z)-3-Hexenal, ( E, E)-2,4-decadienal, ( E, Z)-2,4-decadienal, guaiacol, and methional were found in both green and black olives, but with significant differences in concentrati...

Skeletal degeneration due to aging, also known as osteoporosis, is a major health problem worldwide. Certain dietary components confer protection to our skeletal system against osteoporosis. Consumption of olives, olive oil and olive polyphenols has been shown to improve bone health. This review aims to summarize the current evidence from cellular, animal and human studies on the skeletal prote...

Brownish colourations in Natural green table olives (non-treated with alkali) make this product less attractive to consumers than Spanish-style green table olives (treated with alkali), which develop a more appreciated bright golden-yellow colour. These colour differences were studied in relation to changes in the composition of chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments, as well as polyphenolic compo...

A dose-response relationship was not observed in olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin), larvae exposed to acetic acid concentrations (0-2.5%) used in commercial brine solutions to cure olives. Immersion in a 1% acetic acid brine solution impeded emergence of the immature stages. A 1-wk exposure of olives infested with olive fruit fly larvae to low-temperature storage as a postharvest treat...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival of Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus on natural black olives during aerobic storage without brine and to conclude about the safety of this fermented food. Fermented black olives (pH 3.95; NaCl 6.02%) were artificially inoculated with 4 strains of Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis, 4 strai...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The olive (Olea europaea subsp. europaea) was domesticated in the Mediterranean area but its wild relatives are distributed over three continents, from the Mediterranean basin to South Africa and south-western Asia. Recent studies suggested that this crop originated in the Levant while a secondary diversification occurred in most westward areas. A possible contribution of th...

This work focuses on the persistence of the putative probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus pentosus TOMC-LAB2 on green Spanish-style Manzanilla olives according to different packaging conditions and storage temperatures. The lactic acid bacteria population decreased with time but the highest survival counts (and lowest yeasts) at the end of storage (8 months) were observed in plastic pouches under n...

Storage at 3 and 18 °C of 'Arbequina' olives (Olea europaea L.) cultivated in hedgerows and harvested manually or mechanically (wine grape harvester) was tested. Fruit characteristics and oil quality were monitored. Mechanical harvesting caused internal fruit damage that induced its rapid softening and decay, but also facilitated obtaining higher amounts of oil, which suffered a rapid deteriora...

Olives debittering, organoleptic quality and safety can be improved with yeasts lactic acid bacteria (LABs) selected strain starters, that allow for better fermentation control respect to natural fermentation. Two killer (Wickerhamomyces anomalus Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Lactobacillus plantarum strains were tested olive (cv. Leccino) compare different starter combinations strategies; the aim w...