The influence of saccharin and sorbitol upon the BB-12® activity in milk and the rheological characteristics of fermented products

Abstract

The influence of an intense sweetener, saccharin (E954), and a bulk sweetener, sorbitol (E420), was studied related to the activity of the probiotic culture BB-12® in milk. Sweeteners concentrations used in the experiments were chosen based on the results of a preferential sensorial analysis. The acidity and pH dynamics monitored during bifidobacteria incubation at 37°C showed that BB-12®
behaves in a similar way in milk and milk sweetened with saccharin (0.05‰) or sorbitol (1.5%). Also it was noticed that the fermentation starts without a lag phase in the presence of sorbitol.
The bifidobacteria maintained their viability at a level of 109 viable count during 14 days of storage at 4°C. Sweetened fermented milk samples showed higher consistency index compared to the control sample. More than that, after 7 days of storage (4ºC) it was observed an increase of the k-value for the saccharin and sorbitol samples, while for the control sample the consistency index has a 85% decrease. After 7 days of storage the sweetened samples maintained the same viscoelastic behavior. The study was performed in order to collect scientific evidences on the possibility to obtain probiotic dairy products sweetened with alternative sweeteners.