## 3 Results and Discussion
### Processing Physicochemical Profile in Brine  
Directly brined olives are among the most popular and established commercial styles for table olive preparation [7,33]. However, the _Cobrancosa_ brining process makes it quite different from most other table olive treatments. The evolution in salt content throughout the fermentation process of _Cobrancosa_ olives is presented in Figure 1a. Contrary to what was stated by the producers in the questionnaire--that salt is not added during the sweetening stage--our results show that said statement was not completely true for all producers. When looking for a general pattern in Figure 1a, it can be said that salt is added during the sweetening stage in a steady fashion, from 0 up to 5%, and afterward at a slower pace, from 5 up to 7% or 10%, within the following 5 and 6 months, respectively. A study focused on reducing sodium content of _Picual_ table olives from Cyprus supported the hypothesis that reduced NaCl levels are feasible; 7% salt-containing table olives were even appreciated by the sensory panel as better than their 10% counterparts [6]. Owing to market demand for low-salt and sodium-reduced food products, the value of 7% (\(w/v\)) appears a good choice--besides lying below current values for competing products from other countries [34]. Therefore, future standardization of the _Cobrancosa_ process should seriously consider reducing the salt content in the second stage of the process.  
The initial pH in brines (up to 15 d) ranged from 4.1 to 5.2, depending on the producer; said discrepancy can be explained by the pH of the water source (typically natural mines and holes). Nevertheless, a similar acidification profile was observed for all producers. The pH values decreased gradually until 7 months of fermentation (Figure 1b)and stabilized thereafter at 4.0-4.3 toward the end of fermentation; this agrees with reports elsewhere [6,33,35,36,37]. Based on these results, a different salt content (as previously discussed) appears not to have a significant impact upon acidification; note that the safety issue is conveniently addressed via the addition of salt, so as to allows preferential growth of yeasts and LAB and subsequent decrease in pH. A study confirmed that table olives constubstantiate adverse habitats for foodborne pathogenic microorganisms, e.g., _Escherichia coli_, _Staphylococcus aureus_, _Listeria monocytogenes_, and _Salmonella enterica_) in Alorena de Malaga table olive brine [38].  
Regarding TTA, an increase of up to 0.8 g eq lactic acid/100 mL of brine was observed during the first 3 months; a slower decrease was recorded thereafter, down to 0.2 by 7 months--when a stable plateau was eventually reached (Figure 1c). Remember that there is no fundamental correlation between TTA and pH profiles, since the acids produced are weak, and therefore do not undergo full ionization. The increase in TTA is related to the release of organic acids [39], such as lactic, acetic, succinin, and citric, by LAB and yeasts as they take up and metabolize sugars (e.g., glucose and fructose) contributed by olives [6; 32]. Said acids are ubiquitous in the fermentation brines of green and black olives [6; 32]. The profiles of organic acids were duly monitored and are discussed in due course.