Nowadays, there is a growing interest in developing novel foods containing probiotic microorganisms. Probiotics are commonly defined as viable microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. Most probiotic microorganisms belong to the genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and are used for the production of fermented milk products.

Probiotics should be able to survive the acidic conditions of the upper gastro-intestinal (GI) tract, be resistant to bile salts and proliferate and colonize in the gut. To induce the health effects, probiotics need to contain an adequate amount of live bacteria (at least 10⁷cfu/g), in order to assure a daily intake of 10⁹ probiotic cells, a requirement that is not always fulfilled. However, for certain strains, a lower concentration maybe adequate. As a consequence, the daily suggested dose can be achieved by administration of 100g of a food product containing 10⁷ cfu/g probiotic cells.

A properly designed strategy for incorporation of probiotics into foods is a key factor for maintaining such high concentration, especially at the moment of consumption. Even if a high content of probiotic cells is technological feasible, the cells should remain viable during the product’s shelf-life. This requirement constitutes the main reason that the commercially available probiotic foods are restricted to refrigerated products.

It has been established that cell immobilization enhances the viability of cultures. Cell immobilization on prebiotic supports and the use of the immobilized cells constitutes a challenge for food industry today.

In this context, iFUNFoods project aims at the production of innovative foods with immobilized lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cultures on natural prebiotic supports (dried nuts, cereals, fruits, etc) and study of their potential health effects on humans.

 The Project