Incorporation of selected nutraceuticals and probiotic bacteria into a fermented milk

Yoghurts were produced from a base milk containing three important nutraceuticals, namely w-3-fatty acids, isoflavones and phytosterols. The cultures employed to make the yoghurts were single probiotic strains of Lactobacillus gasseri or Bifidobacterium infantis and, to achieve a short production time, a two-stage fermentation procedure was used with Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus providing the rapid acidification. Yoghurts containing counts of > 1.0 x 10(8) cfu mL(-1) of the individual probiotics and high counts of the traditional species from yoghurt were awarded overall scores for sensory acceptability > 4.0 out of 5.0; the nutraceuticals appeared to have no adverse effect on flavour. Storage trials at 5 degrees C showed that the viability of the probiotic cultures was retained over 15 days. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.