3.2. Microbial analysis
Sauerkraut was produced by spontaneous fermentation utilising the natural microbiota of the cabbage. Numbers of LAB at the start of the experiment were extremely low but started to increase at the onset of fermentation (indicated by the drop in pH), reaching the highest count of 2.2 × 108 cfu/g (MRS-P agar) at Day 5 as shown in Fig. 1b. LAB counts maintained at a high level until Day 9 with 9.3 × 107 cfu/g (MRS agar) and slowly declined during storage to reach 1.4 × 103 cfu/g (MRS-P agar) by Day 56. No significant differences were observed between numbers of total and peroxide-producing LAB, indicating that most of the LAB detected were able to produce peroxide. This ability is one of the properties of LAB responsible for inhibition of other bacteria and is believed to contribute to good hygienic conditions of fermented foods (Pawlowska, Zannini, Coffey, & Arendt, 2012).