Table olives are among the most ancient fermented foods. Although their production is concentrated around the Mediterranean basin, climatic change may lead to a significant growth in other continents, like the Americas.
The study of the ecology of this fermentation process, of the functionality of the microorganisms involved (lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, other halophiles) and the development of control strategies is challenging for several reasons:
- as for many other vegetable fermentations, no heat treatment is used
- the variety of raw materials (in terms of olive cultivars and ripeness of the fruit) and the variety of trade preparations strongly affects the initial contamination and the ecological factors affecting the dynamics of the fermentation
- development and use of starters and functional cultures is difficult and the choice is limited
The use of -omics approaches is providing and increasing body of knowledge which, however, is poorly integrated.
We therefore feel that, in the era of open data and open science, it is the right time for a meeting of the scientists involved in research in this area in order to:
- share state of the art knowledge on the microbiology of the process
- share data
- foster the development of standardized protocols
- foster the creation of collaboration networks
The meeting will be organized as part of the communication activity of the METAOlive project, co-funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, and by the European Union Next GenerationEU program.
Participating to the meeting.
Both in person participation and remote access to the talks and poster presentations will be allowed, although we do encourage participation in person. No participation fee is required. The organizing Committee will cover travel, accommodation and subsistence for invited speakers.
Tentative program and types of presentations.
We plan to devote the morning of the first day to a few invited talks providing an overview of table olive production and on the microbiology of table olives in the Mediterranean countries and on the meta-omics approaches to the study of table olive fermentation; the afternoon will be devoted to selected presentations (including e-posters) and a final round table. If possible, a workshop with table olive producers will be organized on the second day. We are considering the idea of providing remote access to scientists and stakeholders.
The venue.
The meeting will take place at the University of Basilicata, in historical city of Matera. Matera is part of the UNESCO world heritage list and its cityscape and lively gastronomic scene will contribute to a pleasant stay and unique experience. Matera can be reached from Bari International Airport: the organizing committee will organize transportation to and from the airport. Further information on how to reach Matera by car, train or bus is available here.
The dates.
September is a busy month for food microbiologists. The meeting will take place on Monday September 1st, 2025 and, depending on the number of attendees and presentations, might be extended to the morning of September 2nd.
Scientific Committee
Prof. Eugenio Parente, Università degli Studi della Basilicata
Prof. Giuseppe Montanaro, Università degli Studi della Basilicata
Prof.ssa Francesca De Filippis, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”
Prof. Alessandro Genovese, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”
Dr. Francisco Noé Arroyo López, CSIC, Valencia, Spagna
Prof. Efstathios Panagou, Agricultural University Athens, Grecia
Organizing Committee
Prof. Eugenio Parente, Università degli Studi della Basilicata
Prof.ssa Annamaria Ricciardi, Università degli Studi della Basilicata
Dott.ssa Rocchina Pietrafesa, Università degli Studi della Basilicata
Contacts.
Prof. Eugenio Parente eugenio.parente@unibas.it, Prof. Francesca De Filippis francesca.defilippis@unina.it