The objectives of this paper are to investigate the role of LAB in cocoa
bean fermentations and their contribution to chocolate quality by
conducting laboratory scale fermentations under conditions where the
growth of LAB did not occur or was significantly restricted. This was
achieved by adding nisin and nisin plus lysozyme combinations to the
fermentation. Nisin and lysozyme are approved food additives that are
particularly effective against Gram positive bacteria, including LAB, but
have little effect on Gram negative bacteria (Johnson and Larson,
2005; Thomas and Delves-Broughton, 2005).