Pediocin PA-1 production by Pediococcus acidilactici UL5 cells immobilized in kappa-carrageenan/ locust bean gum gel beads was studied during repeated-cycle batch (RCB) culture with pH control in Man Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth supplemented with 1% glucose and whey permeate (SWP) medium. The pediocin PA-1 production by free P acidilactici cells pH-controlled batch culture has reached 2048 and 4096 AU ml(-1) after 11 and 12 h of incubation, with volumetric productivities of 187 and 342 AU ml(-1) h(-1) in SWP and MRS media, respectively. In RCB culture, immobilized cells reached a maximum concentration of 7.3 +/- 0.2 x 10(10) and 4.3 +/- 0.9 x 10(10) cfu g(-1) of beads in MRS and SWP media, respectively. The maximum pediocin PA-1 activity obtained during RCB fermentation was 4096 AU ml-1; it was attained after only 0.75 and 2 h of incubation in MRS and SWP media, respectively. The corresponding volumetric productivities were 5461 and 2048 AU ml(-1) h(-1). Pediocin PA-1 production in the RCB culture was highly stable over 12 fermentation cycles carried out over 3 d in SWP media.