The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of Bacillus on the cocoa fermentation process to facilitate the establishment of a microbial cocktail to control cocoa fermentation. Microbial starters were revived in their respective media and subsequently used in fermentation tests conducted in 1L plastic vessels. Fermentation parameters and quality determinants of cocoa beans were measured every 24 hours during six days of fermentation. The results obtained show that the presence of the Bacillus strain in the microbial cocktail appears to increase the temperature of the cocoa fermentation mass compared to the control. In addition, a fermentation index of 1 was obtained with the cocktail containing Bacillus after 4 days of fermentation, compared to the control. The improvement of the cocoa fermentation process by the Bacillus strain resulted in an increase of more than 7% in well-fermented cocoa beans (43 ± 2.5%) compared to the trial with the cocktail without Bacillus (36 ± 3). These results suggest that the inclusion of the Bacillus strain in the cocoa fermentation starter cocktail could significantly improve the fermentation process and cocoa beans quality.
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