In this study, the survival of the probiotics Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5), Lactobacillus casei subsp. paracasei
(L. casei 01) and Bifidobacterium lactis (BB12) incorporated in a Brazilian semi-hard goat cheese (coalho) when
exposed to in vitro simulated conditions of digestion was assessed. The inhibitory effects of these probiotic bacteriawere
also evaluated against Listeriamonocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus in the goat coalho cheese during
refrigerated storage. At the end of the in vitro digestion, all of the probiotic tested strains presented decreased
(p b 0.05) viable cell counts (5.5–6.0 log cfu/g) with respect to those determined before exposure to the mouth
conditions (7–8 log cfu/g). L. casei subsp. paracasei presented inhibition rate of 7.87% and 23.63% against S. aureus
on the 14th and 21st day of storage at 10 °C, respectively; against L. monocytogenes these values were 12.96 and
32.99%. Positive inhibition rates of B. lactis toward S. aureus were found on the 1st, 14th and 21st days of storage
(16.32%, 10.12% and 3.67%, respectively); and against L. monocytogenes only on the 1st day of storage (3.28%).
From these results, goat coalho cheese could be an interesting carrier of probiotic strains of L. acidophilus,
L. casei subsp. paracasei and B. lactis. Moreover, L. casei subsp. paracasei, could be used as protective culture for
delaying the growth of S. aureus and L. monocytogenes in goat coalho cheese.