Survival of Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria In Ice Cream During Storage: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Abstract This systematic review aimed to synthesize the results of studies that investigated the survival of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in ice cream, in order to determine the factors that enhance survival during storage. The most expressive factors in enhancing the survival of probiotic strains in ice cream were: (i) microencapsulation of LAB, (ii) addition of prebiotics, (iii) fruit and its derivatives, (iv) vegetable extracts, (v) flours, (vi) use of fat substitute for inulin, and (vii) and adaptation of LAB to cold or heat. The factors that have been shown to reduce the viability of probiotic strains were: (i) substitution of sugar for sweeteners and (ii) storage time. Still contradictory results were found regarding the addition of whey and vitamins and minerals, replacement of cow's milk by other ingredients, change in the amount of fat alone and together with sugar, the influence of the LAB species/subspecies and different methods ice cream manufacturing. Finally, different ice cream packaging materials had no significant effect on survival.