PROBIOTIC MICROENCAPSULATION WITH SPRAY CHILLING: EFFECT ON THE QUALITY PARAMETERS AND SENSORIAL ACCEPTANCE OF REQUEIJÃO CREMOSO PROCESSED CHEESE

Requeijão cremoso is a Brazilian processed cheese obtained by fusing a mass of washed and drained fresh curd using temperatures of 85-95 oC for 2-5 min. Probiotic cultures have demonstrated low heat resistance. The effect of sodium reduction and Lactobacillus acidophilus addition (free or microencapsulated) on the quality parameters of requeijão cremoso processed cheese was assessed for 90 days at 5 oC. Three formulations were prepared: (CONT) regular salt content and curd fusion (90 oC/2 min), (FREE) reduced salt content + free probiotic culture added after curd fusion (90 oC/2 min), and (MICRO) reduced salt content + microencapsulated probiotic culture added before curd fusion (70 oC/5 min). Lipid microparticles loaded with L. acidophilus La-5 were produced using the spray chilling technique. The products were evaluated for chemical composition, physicochemical parameters, fatty acid profile, rheological properties, and sensory acceptance. Data were submitted to the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test (p < 0.05). FREE and MICRO formulations showed increased monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid content, improved health indices (decreases in thrombogenic index and increases in desirable fatty acid index), and altered rheological properties (higher consistency index, apparent viscosity, elastic properties, and gel strength). In addition, the MICRO formulation showed higher texture sensory acceptance. In conclusion, probiotic microencapsulation with spray chilling can be used in Requeijão cremoso processed cheese allowing probiotic addition before heat treatment and resulting in products with improved sensory acceptance, fatty acid profile, health indices, and rheological properties.