Quality evaluation of different typical table olive preparations (cv Nocellara del Belice)

Commercially available green table olives of the Nocellara del Belice cultivar were processed in 26 companies. Three different processing conditions were used to obtain olive debittering: natural fermentation, “Castelvetrano” (a typical west Sicilian method) and cracked olives. The green olives packed into 200-500 mL glass jars were analyzed for physico-chemical characteristics that revealed statistical differences among the three debittering methods and a great difference among the samples, reflecting a low level of standardization achieved in these fermented products. The results showed an influence of the treatments on all physico-chemical parameters with the exception of total polyphenol content and lightness (L*) for which no significant differences were found. The average pH in the brine samples was under the hygienic limit of 4.5 with the exception of Castelvetrano olives which showed a higher pH values. The salt concentration of the brine samples appeared lower than the commercial limit according to the table olive trade standards. The brine samples were also analyzed for some microbiological parameters. Not all the samples showed acceptable commercial standards, because Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus and coliform bacteria were detected in a few samples.