PRODUCTION METHODS FOR PROBIOTIC BAKERY PRODUCTS

Functional foods attract consumer interest worldwide. Although probiotic foods -one of the most known functional foods- are predominantly based on milk matrices, non-dairy probiotic foods are slowly emerging as a valuable addition to the functional foods market. The most important issue when producing probiotic foods is to ensure the number of viable probiotics is at least 106 cfu/g or cfu/ml, from production to consumption. The baking process applied in the production of bakery products, which are consumed enjoyably by many people, can cause significant losses of probiotic viability, such that the product does not deliver the expected health benefits. Several techniques that have been applied to maintain the number of live probiotics at maximum level are microencapsulation, edible films and coatings and using sporulating probiotic microorganisms. This review describes the methods used for producing probiotic bakery products, with reference to relevant studies in the scientific literature