The production of divercin, a bacteriocin active against Listeria, by whole cells of Carnobacterium divergens V41 was investigated by three means : continuous cultivation with free cells; with cells immobilized in calcium-alginate bends packed in a plug-flow bioreactor, and with a membrane bioreactor. The productivity and bacteriocin concentration of the systems were compared. Immobilized cells presented the best performance withe more than 10(5) AU l(-1) h(-1) which can be compared to the 2.8 x 10(3) AU l(-1) h(-1) of the batch system. The membrane bioreactor failed to be efficient for low transmission of the bacteriocin through the membranes tested.