carriers, little work has been done in this field to consider fermented
juices. Most reported studies are based on microbial addition
of probiotic strains to fruit juices. This study showed that
sonication can be applied as a pre-treatment for cultivating the
probiotic strain L. casei B-442, which was then able ferment sonicated
pineapple juice without any nutrient supplementation. Good
viable cells counts were obtained in a short time (12 h) and microbial
viability was maintained within the acceptable range for at
least 21 days under cold storage. Browning, which is characteristic
of pineapple juice and usually is avoided using chemical products
such as sodium metabisulfite, was prevented only by applying sonication
before fermentation. The juice colour was well accepted
and consumers indicated a preference for the sweetened product.
Complementary studies on the impact of the fermentation process
on sensory acceptance as well as the use of non-caloric sweeteners
such as stevia and sucralose are to be the subject of future studies.