Potential of Probiotic Frozen Blackcurrant Products: Consumer Preference, Physicochemical Characterization, and Cell Viability

• Published in: Foods Vol. 10; no. 4; p. 792
• Main Authors: Väkeväinen, Kati, Rinkinen, Noora, Willman, Roosa-Maria, Lappi, Jenni, Raninen, Kaisa, Kårlund, Anna, Mikkonen, Santtu, Plumed-Ferrer, Carme, Kolehmainen, Marjukka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.04.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Berries; blackcurrant berries; Blackcurrants; Cell viability; Consumers; Food; Food science; Frozen food; Frozen foods; Fruits; Ingredients; Lactoplantibacillus plantarum; Manufacturing; Manufacturing industry; Nutrition research; Physicochemical properties; Prebiotics; probiotic; Probiotics; Quinoa; sensory evaluation; Sensory properties; Vegan; Veganism; Viscosity; United Kingdom > UK; Germany; Finland; probiotic; vegan; blackcurrant berries; sensory evaluation; Lactoplantibacillus plantarum
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods10040792

Blackcurrant is a healthy, affordable, and traditionally gardened berry that, thus far, has been underused in food applications. From the consumers' point of view, the acidic taste of blackcurrants is a challenge; therefore, these berries have mainly been utilized for sugary juice production. This research study aimed to develop a frozen vegan blackcurrant product with pleasant sensory properties and potential probiotic function. A candidate probiotic, Q823, was used in the manufacturing process. The physicochemical properties, nutritional composition, and consumer preference for the developed product were assessed, as was the viability of Q823 during storage time and in an in vitro gastrointestinal model. Consumers ( = 71) perceived the developed product to be pleasant. Q823 had high viability counts (log colony forming units (cfu) g 7.0 ± 0.38) in the final product, although the viability of Q823 during storage time needs to be enhanced to obtain a probiotic product. Thus, within an optimized formulation, blackcurrant berries represent a potential raw material for functional frozen food products.