Addition of beta-glucan to food increases their pro-health
properties but at the same time causes changes in their sensory
and physicochemical properties, that determine consumer
willingness to buy food products [Lyly et al., 2007]. It is
obvious that taste and other sensory characteristics of food
occupy a key position in consumer’s food choice [Urala &
Lähteenmäki, 2004; Verbeke, 2006]. Therefore it is very important
to keep similar sensory quality of food with added
beta-glucans, as compared to those without fibers and to set
up glucan level to be acceptable to consumers. Many recent
studies have shown some possibilities of adding beta-glucans
to food, yet most of them were dealing with beta-glucans
from oats and barley [Temelli et al., 2004; Volikakis et al.,
2004]. Therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate
the effects of beta-glucan from spent brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces
cerevisiae on sensory and stability properties of natural
yoghurts and to maintain beta-glucan content yielding
sensory characteristics similar to those of a control sample
without it.