INNOVATIVE FOOD SCIENCE & EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, vol.66, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
Nowadays, the production of non-dairy and heat-treated probiotic foods has been gaining high interest. With this aim, due to its spore-forming ability Bacillus coagulans has been widely used in research studies. In this study, probiotic pasta production was accomplished with the addition of Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 spores into semolina. Samples were packed in zip-lock bag and stored at room temperature for 6 months. The microbiological characteristics, cooking behavior, texture, color and sensory attributes of pasta samples were investigated at 0 and 6 months of storage. Results showed that B. coagulans GBI-30 count of pasta samples decreased from 7.20 to 6.08 log CFU/g during cooking and storage showed statistically significant effect on B. coagulans GBI-30 count. At the end of the cooking in boiling (100 degrees C) distilled water for 8 min, B. coagulans GBI-30 did not negatively affect the sensorial quality of pasta according to the sensory panel of 7 experts. Therefore, it was concluded that the pasta can be considered as a probiotic product after 6 months of storage at room temperature due to the fact that B. coagulans GBI-30 count was above 6 log CFU/g.