3.4. Sensory properties
All three formulations received good sensory acceptability ratings
after 28 days of storage, receiving scores between 7 and 8 on
the hedonic scale of 9 points, scores corresponding to “moderately
liked it” to “I liked it a lot” (Table 2).
There was no significant difference in the taste attribute between
the control and symbiotic formulations. The effect of FOS
addition in the symbiotic formulation may have favored the taste
compared to the probiotic formulation because oligo-fructoses
present low degree of polymerization and large amount of free
sugars, such as glucose and fructose, with 30e50% of sucrose
sweetening power (Apolinario et al., 2014; Nobre et al., 2014).
All scores for consistency and overall impression were above 7 in
the studied formulations. The judges did not observe a significant
difference in consistency between the probiotic and symbiotic
formulations, demonstrating that it was not possible to identify the
influence of FOS in this attribute. Molecules with a degree of
polymerization less than 10, such as FOS, do not interfere in the gel
structure of the product and remain dissolved (Phillips & Williams,
2000). The significant difference (P < 0.05) observed in consistency
between the control and, probiotic and symbiotic formulations may
result from increased acidification (Fig. 2) because decreased pH
promotes the release of calcium ions; these changes in the levels of
free calcium concentration may be associated with dairy matrices
that are more fragile and fragmented (Madureira et al., 2008).
All three formulations showed good scores close to 4 and 5 on a
scale of 5 points for purchase intent corresponding to “I would
probably buy it” and “I would certainly buy it” and corroborating
good acceptability (Table 2).
Therefore, the creamy milk chocolate formulations containing
L. paracasei and FOS resulted in products with satisfactory pH, taste,
and consistency and showed high sensory acceptability. These