According to a widely accepted definition, recognized by FAO/
WHO, probiotics are “live microorganisms which, when administered
in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”
(FAO/WHO, 2001). There are however some barriers to the survival
of probiotic microorganisms and the most important aspect of
probiotics research is the survival of probiotic bacteria in the
gastrointestinal tract. The presence of food and food ingredients
has been reported to improve the viability of microorganisms
during gastric transit (Heller, 2001). Fermented milks are the most
used to deliver the probiotic bacteria (Gomes da Cruz et al., 2009),
but these kinds of food are unsuitable for consumers with deficiency
in the enzyme b-galactosidase and under cholesterollowering
diet. For this reason an increasing interest is currently
found for different food matrices which may offer a number of