Abstract

The consumer demands for functional foods containing probiotic microorganisms has been increasing in parallel with a heightened awareness of health consciousness. New products containing these microorganisms, especially strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, have been developing and it is estimated that probiotic foods account for 60% to 70% of the total functional food market. Probiotics are accepted as having a lot of beneficial health effects, such as the prevention and treatment of diseases (Corcoran et al., 2004) when consumed in adequate numbers (>10⁶ cfu/g). However, they are very sensitive to the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal system (pH, bile salts, enzymes, etc.) and environment (oxygen, temperature, moisture content during storage). Desmond et al. (2001) prescribed that the viability of probiotics should be protected during food processing at commercial level. Since these factors influence viability of probiotic microorganisms, various encapsulation methods have been developed to enable the survival of probiotics. The preservation of probiotic starter cultures by spray drying is a preferable method for long-term storage and it enables the production of large amounts of powders in one continuous process step (Foerst, 2016; Morgan et al., 2006).