Probiotic Enriched and Low-Organic Acid Food Products

Abstract

This invention relates to a fruit-based food product such as beverages or fruit purees, comprising a concentration of live and stable probiotics, which is preferably greater than 10 8 CFU/ml, a high fruit content, which is preferably greater than 50%, and a low organic acid content, and wherein the production of off-tastes is reduced or diminished in relation to the initial fruit matrix, as well as method for preparing a food product such as this.

1 . Packaged, fruit-based food product comprising live and stable probiotics the organic acid content of which is reduced by 10 to 100%, in relation to the initial organic acid content of the fruit matrix and wherein the production of off-tastes is reduced or eliminated in relation to the initial fruit matrix. 
     
     
         2 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it is a beverage. 
     
     
         3 . Food product according to  claim 2 , characterised in that the fruit matrix is a fruit juice or a concentrate-based reconstituted fruit juice. 
     
     
         4 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it contains between 20 and 99.99% fruit juices. 
     
     
         5 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it contains between 50 and 99.99% fruit juices. 
     
     
         6 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it is a fruit-based puree. 
     
     
         7 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it contains between 50 and 99.99% fruit puree. 
     
     
         8 . Food product according to  claim 7 , characterised in that it contains between 90 and 99.99% fruit puree. 
     
     
         9 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the probiotics are bacterial strains of the genus  Lactobacillus.    
     
     
         10 . Food product according to  claim 9 , characterised in that the probiotics are  Lactobacillus plantarum.    
     
     
         11 . Food product according to  claim 10 , characterised in that the probiotics are strains of  Lactobacillus plantarum  deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikrooganismen von Zelkuturen GmbH on 16 Mar. 1995, under the number DSM 9843, or strains of  Lactobacillus plantarum  deposited at the Collection Nationale des Cultures de Microorganismes on 4 Apr. 2002, under the number CNCM 1-2845. 
     
     
         12 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the probiotics are at a concentration of between 5.105 and 1.108 CFU/ml. 
     
     
         13 . Food product according to  claim 12 , characterised in that the probiotics are at a concentration greater than or equal to 10 8  CFU/ml. 
     
     
         14 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the pH thereof is between 3 and 4. 
     
     
         15 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it keeps for at least 30 days at a maximum temperature of 10° C. 
     
     
         16 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it is one fruit-based. 
     
     
         17 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it is based on several fruits. 
     
     
         18 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the fruit or fruits have a high organic acid content. 
     
     
         19 . Food product according to  claim 18 , characterised in that the fruits are: orange, lemon, grape, pineapple, apple, pear, peach and/or red berries. 
     
     
         20 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that it further contains milk and/or a vegetable juice. 
     
     
         21 . Food product according to  claim 20 , characterised in that the vegetable juice is a juice made from soybean. 
     
     
         22 . Food product according to  claim 1 , characterised in that the organic acids are malic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, pyruvic acid, fumaric acid and/or gluconic acid. 
     
     
         23 . Method of preparing a food product including the following steps:
 a) Depletion of organic acids from the fruit-based matrix,   b) Addition of probiotics to the matrix obtained at step a),   c) Packaging of the product obtained after step b).   
     
     
         24 . Method according to  claim 23 , characterised in that step a) for depleting organic acids from a fruit-based matrix is carried out by selecting a fruit matrix having low natural acidity. 
     
     
         25 . Method according to  claim 24 , characterised in the selection of a fruit matrix having a low natural acidity is carried out via varietal selection of the fruits and/or by controlling the ripening of the fruit. 
     
     
         26 . Method according to  claim 23 , characterised in that the step a) for depleting organic acids from a fruit-based matrix is carried out via de-acidification of the fruit matrix. 
     
     
         27 . Method according to  claim 26 , characterised in that the reduction in titratable acidity of the fruit matrix is carried out via electrodialysis of the fruit matrix, precipitation of the organic acids from the fruit matrix with calcium salts, malolactic fermentation, selective assimilation of the citric acid and/or passing the fruit matrix over an anion exchange resin. 
     
     
         28 . Method according to  claim 23 , characterised in that step b) and step c) are carried out simultaneously. 
     
     
         29 . Method according to  claim 23 , characterised in that the fruit-based matrix is a fruit juice, a concentrate-based reconstituted fruit juice, or a fruit puree. 
     
     
         30 . Method according to  claim 23 , characterised in that step for adding lactic acid is carried out between step b) and step c) of said method, or simultaneously therewith. 
     
     
         31 . Strain of  Lactobacillus plantarum  deposited at the Collection Nationale des Cultures de Microorganismes on 4 Apr. 2002, under the number CNCM 1-845.