Cream cheese as a symbiotic food carrier using B ifidobacterium animalis B b‐12 and L actobacillus acidophilus L a‐5 and inulin

The stability of cream cheeses as a symbiotic food carrier, through supplementation with different concentrations of probiotic bacteria B ifidobacterium animalis B b‐12 and L actobacillus acidophilus L a‐5 and the prebiotic ingredient inulin was investigated. Physicochemical parameters, pH values, total solids, fat and protein levels and the viable counts of the starter lactic culture S treptococcus thermophilus and probiotic cultures, were carried out at 1, 15, 30 and 45 days of refrigerated storage (8 ± 0.5 °C). Different physicochemical characteristics were observed in all formulations. S . thermophilus showed good viability in all the trials (6.66–9.38 log cfu/g), whereas B . animalis remained above 6 log cfu/g in all the trials during the period evaluated. However, L . acidophilus showed an accentuated decline, registering values of 3.1 log cfu/g at the end of the period studied. The results suggested that cream cheese was an adequate food matrix for supplementation with probiotic bacteria, in particular B . animalis , and the prebiotic ingredient, showing potential as a symbiotic food.