Development of a frozen dessert associating a cereal bar and a synbiotic ice cream bar

Author(s)

Juliana Bolfarini Harami

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Conjunto das Químicas (IQ e FCF) (CQ/DBDCQ)
• Defense date: 2009-03-06

Examining board members

Susana Marta Isay Saad; Luiz Antonio Gioielli; Elizeu Antonio Rossi

• Advisor: Susana Marta Isay Saad

Abstract

Functional foods supplemented with probiotic microorganisms and prebiotic ingredients are increasingly popular as they improve consumer health, and these foods nowadays form a new group of food products called synbiotic products. The present study aimed to develop a food product for consumption in individual portions, associating a cereal bar and a low fat ice cream bar containing the probiotic microorganisms Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis Bb-12, supplemented or not with the prebiotic ingredient inulin, to verify the viability of the probiotics and to evaluate the sensory acceptability of the products and their physical-chemical characteristics during storage at -18°C. Employing a 22 design, four trials of the ice cream portion were produced in triplicate, all of them supplemented with probiotics: T1 (control), T2 (with inulin), T3 (with reduced fat content) and T4 (with inulin and reduced fat). The products were stored at -18°C for up to 168 days. The parameters evaluated in the ice cream portion included: pH (before and after the aging of the mix, and after 168 days of storage); overrun (after the freezing stage); viability of the probiotics (in the final mixture and after 1,2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 84, and 168 days); instrumental hardness (TA-XT2 texturometer); and melting rate (after 14 days). The four trials of the final product (cereal bar associated with ice cream bar) were submitted to sensory evaluation by an untrained panel, employing the acceptability test, with a 9-point structured hedonic scale, after 7, 28, and 84 days of storage. The compositional analyses of the ice cream and cereal bars were carried out individually for each portion. The populations of L. acidophilus e B. animalis were above 7 log CFU/g, for up to 168 days for the formulations supplemented with inulin and/or fat substitute, and the addition of inulin contributed to the maintenance of the viability of B. animalis throughout storage. The addition and/or substitution of ingredients in the ice cream formulations did not significantly affect pH and overrun. As for hardness and melting rate, significant differences were observed (p<0.05). However, such differences did not influence the product acceptance by the consumer, as no differences for sensory acceptability between the four trials evaluated was observed, and scores were always above 7, without any interference of the storage period on this acceptability. The study showed that the association of a cereal bar and a low fat non-fermented probiotic ice cream, containing 1.5% milk fat and supplemented with 8.0% inulin, is technologically feasible to provide consumers with a synbiotic functional food product, as an option for consumption of individual portions. (AU)