Three technological approaches to enhance viable counts of probiotic bacteria in ice cream were
examined: post-freezing inoculation, use of a microencapsulated culture (spray-coating technology) and
inclusion of cultures in chocolate or tablet particles. When a free-cell powder (FCP) of Bifidobacterium
longum R0175 was added to the soft ice cream before hardening, a drop of almost 3 log cfu g1 occurred
during production and storage, while it was of only 0.43 log cfu g1 for Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011.
However, inoculation with a powder of microencapsulated cells (MEP) improved stability of B. longum.
The viability of probiotics was further improved when the MEP was incorporated into chocolate particles,
which were subsequently blended into the ice cream. Viability losses of the FCP culture during storage
at 16 C in a household freezer having periodic defrost cycles were 10 times higher than when
constantly maintained at 20 C.