Probiotic dried apple snacks: Development of probiotic coating and shelf‐life studies
Andrêssa Maria Medeiros Theóphilo Galvão, Suelí Rodrigues, Fabiano A.N. Fernandes
Abstract
This work presents the development of apple snacks incorporated with the probiotic microorganism Bacillus coagulans. Drying was carried out in a fluidized bed dryer. Apple cubes were dried and coated with a pharmaceutical-based coating containing the probiotic during the drying process. The optimal coating formulation comprised of 0.0125 g/ml hydroxyethyl cellulose and 1.17 μl/ml polyethylene glycol, enabling a total coated area of 77.7%. Viable cells count, polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase enzyme activities, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and vitamin E content were measured during 90 days of storage in room temperature (~25°C). The viability of B. coagulans during the storage time was higher than 8.0 log CFU/portion, conferring the probiotic characteristic of the apple snacks. The polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase enzyme activities decreased, reducing its effect on the loss of phenolic compounds. The antioxidant capacity followed the same trend presented by the phenolics content. Practical applications Probiotic enriched food products are a fast-growing niche of food products that are marketed to confer benefits for the consumer health. Most of the probiotic products are dairy-based, and very few nondairy-based probiotic products exist. This work presents the development of apple snacks incorporated with the probiotic microorganism Bacillus coagulans. The development of a dried fruit snack is convenient for the consumer that can take the product everywhere without needing to keep it under refrigeration.