Electrolyzed water (EW) is a new technology that emerged in the last years with potential application in foods, mainly in microbiological aspects, with variation in application modes, dipping the food in solution, where variation of time can be changed and be apply in the form of spray. Because EW characteristics, its action in microorganisms are still been studied for mechanism elucidation and possible damages, as well its influence in the intrinsic characteristics of food, like color and oxidation. This unconventional or ‘green’ technology has the purpose to prove microbiological quality of food and decrease the use of natural resources like water with minimal generation of chemical/toxic residues. More studies are necessary in relation to this technology and its possible applications in food industry, as well characteristics and mechanisms.

The work is intended to explore the suitability of underutilized coconut water (a byproduct of food industry) for the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) by Agrobacterium sp. CFR 24. Besides checking the suitability of coconut water for the production of water-soluble (WS) and water-insoluble (WIS) EPS, certain fermentation parameters, such as initial pH, incubation period and kinetics of EPS production were investigated. The coconut water medium was found to support the production of both types of EPS. The optimal initial pH and temperature was found to be 6·0 and 30°C, respectively. In shake flask (150 rev min[superscript [-]1]) studies, high-cell density inoculum resulted in the production of 11·50 g l[superscript [-]1] of WIS-EPS and 4·01 g l[superscript [-]1] WS-EPS after 72 and 96 h of fermentation, respectively. Coconut water was found suitable for the production of microbial EPS by Agrobacterium sp. CFR 24 strain. Under optimum conditions, it produced a good amount of WIS-EPS, which is comparable with that of the sucrose medium (11 g l[superscript [-]1]). This is the first report on the use of coconut water as a fermentation medium for the production of any microbial EPS. Besides producing value-added products, use of this food industry byproduct, which is often being drained out, can significantly reduce the problem of environmental pollution.