against the simulated gastrointestinal conditions. More specifically,there was a reduction in viable cell counts from 1.47 to 1.69 log cfu/g for the free cell systems in the absence or presence of bread crust in the saline solution. The latter is very interesting as it implies that the viability of L. rhamnosus GG after the simulated digestion of the probiotic bread crust samples is predominantly affected by the presence of the film whilst the protective role of the bread matrix against the simulated gastrointestinal conditions is relatively minor(differences in the viabilities of