摘要：The overall objective of the works performed within PROTECH (Nutritional enhancement of probiotics and prebiotics: Technology aspects on microbial viability, stability, functionality and on prebiotic function, QLK1-CT- 2000-30042) is to address and overcome specific scientific and technological hurdles that impact on the performance of functional foods based on probiotic/prebiotic interactions. Such hurdles include the lack of a clear knowledge of the primary factors responsible for probiotic viability, stability and performance. Limited information is available on the impact of processing, storage and food matrices or food constituents on probiotic viability, stability and functionality. Furthermore, there are insufficient data about the interactions between probiotics and prebiotics in starter cultures or in functional foods prior to consumption. As a result of achieving this objective, selected prebiotics in combination with tailored manufacturing processes can not only contribute to probiotic functionality but also improve viability and stability of probiotic cultures within food matrices during processing and storage.
