When probiotics were added to ice cream mixture which was then frozen in a continuous ice cream freezer, numbers of viable cells decreased (Fig. 4). Apparent rate of death was greatest immediately after frozen product exited the freezer and slowed during storage. Thus, major freezedamage occurred when probiotics were in the ice cream freezer. Probably damage to cells inside the ice cream freezer was caused by formation of ice crystals and by scraping of the cylinder wall by the blades of the freezer. Resistance to freezing damage differed between two probiotic strains.