Coffee is an important crop that assures a sustainable economy to farmers in tropical regions. A dramatic concern for coffee production is currently represented by climate change, which threatens the survival of Coffea arabica cultivation worldwide and imposes modifications of the agronomic practices to prevent this risk. The quality of coffee beans depends on optimized protocols of cultivation, ripe berries collection, and removal of the outer fruit layers by dry or wet processes and moisture reduction. Storage and shipment represent two steps where bean quality needs to be preserved by preventing fungal contamination that may impact the final product and form mycotoxins, mainly ochratoxin A. In this review, we describe the challenges faced by the coffee industry to guarantee quality from production to roasting and brewing. An overview of novel technologies, such as the application of starter cultures in fermentation and the exploitation of industrial enzymes in accelerating the process of flavour development in coffee beans, is given. Moreover, the results of studies on microbial populations on coffee and the differences found in fungi, yeasts and bacteria composition among the investigations, are summarized. In particular, this review describes new attempts to contain the development of mycotoxigenic fungi, through the application of antagonistic microorganisms such as S. cerevisiae. The new wave of specialty coffees, i.e., those with a cupping score higher than 85/100, is also presented. It is shown how, through careful coffee production methods and controlled fermentation processes, coffee producers may increase their income by assuring high standards of quality and high added value for the coffee experience sector.

This study was aimed at selecting novel strains of Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus\ud rhamnosus for their capability to withstand different stress factors encountered in food processing\ud and in the gastrointestinal tract. In spite of the extensive use of Lactobacillus strains in food\ud applications and as commercial probiotics, there is little information on the diversity in the stress\ud tolerance within these species. In this work 108 L. paracasei, 68 L. rhamnosus and 8 L. casei strains,\ud isolated from different sources (dairy and meat products, sourdoughs, wine, beverages, vegetables and\ud human body) and geographical regions were screened for tolerance to acid, bile salts, high osmolarity\ud and capability to grow at different non-optimal temperatures and survival after exposure to refrigeration\ud or freezing.\ud The study highlighted a noticeable heterogeneity in the ability of the strains to withstand harsh\ud growth conditions suggesting that different stress factors should be applied to identify the most\ud promising candidates for technological uses. In this investigation thirteen strains, isolated from wine,\ud human faeces and sourdough niches, that showed better tolerance to high acidity, bile salts and NaCl,\ud thus more interesting for being industrially exploited, were selected

Microorganisms belonging to the Lactobacillus genus complex (LGC) are naturally associated or deliberately added to fermented food products and are widely used as probiotic food supplements. Moreover, these bacteria normally colonize the mouth, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and female genitourinary tract of humans. They exert multiple beneficial effects and are regarded as safe microorganisms. However, infections caused by lactobacilli, mainly endocarditis, bacteremia, and pleuropneumonia, occasionally occur. The relevance of Lactobacillus spp. and other members of the LGC as opportunistic pathogens in humans and related risk factors and predisposing conditions are illustrated in this review article with more emphasis on the species L. rhamnosus that has been more often involved in infection cases. The methods used to identify this species in clinical samples, to distinguish strains and to evaluate traits that can be associated to pathogenicity, as well as future perspectives for improving the identification of potentially pathogenic strains, are outlined.