Viability of bifidobacteria in commercial yogurt products in North Carolina during refrigerated storage

Fifty-eight commercial yogurt products of seven brands (which claimed to include bifidobacteria) were obtained from local stores in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. These products were examined at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks for the viability of bifidobacteria and yogurt starter culture during refrigerated storage at 4°C. Our results showed that bifidobacteria counts were variable, ranging from 0 to 5.5 log cfu/mL. The average yogurt starter culture counts ranged from 5.20 to 8.87 log cfu/mL and 7.51–8.94 log cfu/mL for Lactobacillus delbrueckii spp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus , respectively. Of the 58 products tested, only 44 products (76%) contained viable cultures. Viability of bifidobacteria in yogurt samples remained within the same levels during 3 weeks of storage at 4°C; however, the bacterial count started to decline during the fourth week. These results suggest optimal beneficial consumption of yogurt foods with live bifidobacteria should occur within 3 weeks of production. Results obtained from this research could be used by the industry to develop new technologies to ensure consumers receive high-quality products.     

Observability by using viability kernels

The aim of this paper is to propose a new way to deal with observability of systems governed by ODEs, in a more general setting than the standard output equation.The primary finding is that observability over a time horizon reduces to single-valuedness of the vertical section of a set we name the observability kernel.The latter consists of the viability kernel of the output domain under the augmented system.The approach may be used either for global or local observability,to which available results on single-valuedness of multifunctions shall be applied in order to get necessary and/or sufficient characterizing conditions.Several examples are provided in order to illustrate the method.     

Coupling geometric analysis and viability theory for system exploration: Application to a living food system

This paper addresses the issue of studying a food complex system in a reverse engineering manner with the aim of identifying the set of all possible actions that makes it reach a quality target with respect to manufacturing constraints. Once the set of actions is identified, several criteria can be considered to identify interesting trajectories and control policies. A viability approach, coupling the viability theory and a geometric approach of robustness, is proposed to study complex dynamical systems. It can be implemented for several types of systems, from linear to non linear or hybrid systems. The proposed framework was adapted to a living food system: a ripening model of Camembert cheese to identify the set of states and actions (capture basin) from which it is possible to reach a predefined quality target. Within the set of viable trajectories, particular trajectories that improve the Camembert cheese ripening process are identified using the proposed approach. The results are applied at a pilot scale and are discussed in this paper.     

Preservation of functionality of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis INL1 after incorporation of freeze-dried cells into different food matrices

The aim of this work was to investigate how production and freeze-drying conditions of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis INL1, a probiotic strain isolated from breast milk, affected its survival and resistance to simulated gastric digestion during storage in food matrices. The determination of the resistance of bifidobacteria to simulated gastric digestion was useful for unveiling differences in cell sensitivity to varying conditions during biomass production, freeze-drying and incorporation of the strain into food products. These findings show that bifidobacteria can become sensitive to technological variables (biomass production, freeze-drying and the food matrix) without this fact being evidenced by plate counts.     

Effects of moderate pressure on premeability and viability of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> cells

With CO₂ and N₂ as the pressure media, the effects of the moderate pressure (0.1–1.0MPa) and the holding time on the conductivities of the cell suspension of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CICC1447 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae CICC1339, as well as the absorbances of the supernatant (after centrifuged) at 280 nm (A₂₈₀) and 260 nm (A₂₆₀) were determined. The membrane permeability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CICC1447 increased significantly and the cell leakage was aggravated with the pressure increase. For Saccharomyces cerevisiae CICC1339, the conductivity of the cell suspension, A₂₈₀ and A₂₆₀ of the supernatant fluctuated with the pressure increase; as a whole, they increased with pressure. Different from high pressure, a moderate pressure not only remarkably improved the permeability of the yeast cell membrane, but also kept yeast cell viability; moreover, the integrity of the yeast cell membrane could be maintained. The first author and the fifth author contributed to the work equally.     

Viability and surface properties of spores subjected to a cleaning-in-place procedure: Consequences on their ability to contaminate surfaces of equipment

This study was designed to evaluate how conditions encountered by spores during cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures affected their surface properties, their viability and ability to contaminate materials. Spores from five Bacillus cereus strains were treated with NaOH at high temperature. Results revealed that high temperatures (exceeding 60 °C) and NaOH concentrations (over 0.5%) were required to significantly decrease spore viability (3–5 log decrease). In these conditions, modifications were also clearly observed by microscopy to various surface structures of spores (appendages, exosporium, and especially to the hair-like nap) but also to their coat. Therefore, the ability of culturable spores to adhere decreased for the majority of strains tested. We then demonstrated that spores in suspension in NaOH could adhere to surfaces of a CIP rig and that the contamination level was controlled by flow pattern. Consequently, re-adhesion along the processing line might occur during CIP procedures and this phenomenon must be taken into account when defining cleaning strategies.     

Influence of ionic liquids on the growth ofEscherichia coli

Ionic liquids are compounds that composed only of ions and are liquid at room temperature. Thus, it is normally named room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL). In this study, the application of RTILs to the extractive fermentation of biomaterials was investigated as a substitute of organic solvents. The relative toxicity of the RTILs on the growth ofE. coli was tested. The inhibition of cell growth in the presence of various ionic liquids was measured using solid and liquid culture, and EC₅₀ of each RTILs was calculated. The number of viable and total cells was measured by the number of colonies and optical density, respectively. Effective concentrations of toxicity (EC₅₀) in these tested systems were similar with conventional solvents, such as acetone, acetonitrile, and ethanol. The viability ofE. coli was affected by the polarity and ionic properties of ionic liquids. The resistance of the microorganisms against ionic liquids was different with the cations and anions composing ionic liquids. No general influence of the anionic compound of the ionic liquids was found on toxicity comparing with distinctive influence of cationic moiety.     

The effect of hydrolysed tragacanth gum and inulin on the probiotic viability and quality characteristics of low‐fat yoghurt

This study investigates the effect of supplementation of tragacanth gum (GT, 0.05% w/v), low molecular weight gum tragacanth (LMWGT, 0.5% w/v) and inulin (0.5% w/v) on the viability of Bifidobacterium bifidum and the quality parameters of low‐fat yoghurt during a three‐week storage period. The count of probiotics was found to be 7.8 log cfu/g in inulin, and LMWGT enriched yoghurts at the end of the storage period. The minimum water holding capacity and the maximum syneresis values were also obtained in the low‐fat yoghurt enriched with GT throughout the storage time. The samples containing inulin and LMWGT revealed sensory attributes that were judged superior compared to those in GT.     

Establishing Guidelines to Retain Viability of Probiotics During Spray Drying

We present the application of a model-based approach to map processing conditions suitable to spray dry probiotics with minimal viability loss. The approach combines the drying history and bacterial inactivation kinetics to predict the retention of viability after drying. The approach was used to systematically assess the influence of operational co-current spray drying conditions on residual viability. Moreover, two promising alternative drying strategies for probiotics were evaluated involving encapsulation in a hollow particle and using an “ideal-mixed” dryer system. Finally, a graph was constructed with the model to provide visual guidelines to optimize spray dying for probiotics in terms of viability and drying efficiency.     

Volumetric assessment of myocardial viability in rats using 3D double contrast enhanced T1 and T2-weighted MRI

Objective: Volumetric evaluation of the myocardial viability post-infarction in rats using 3D in vivo MR imaging at 7 T using injection of an extracellular paramagnetic contrast agent and intravascular superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in the same imaging session. Materials and methods: Five hours after induction of permanent myocardial infarction in rats (n=6), 3D in vivo T1- and T2-weighted MR Imaging was performed prior to and after Gd-DOTA injection (0.2 mmol/kg) and prior to and after nanoparticle injection (5 mg Fe/kg) to assess infarct size and myocardial viability. Results: 3D MR Imaging using a successive contrast agent injection showed a difference of infarct size after Gd-DOTA injection on T1-weighted images compared to the one measured on T2-weighted images after Gd-DOTA and nanoparticle injection. Conclusion: The use of 3D T1- and T2-weighted MR Imaging using a double contrast agents protocol made possible the accurate characterization of myocardial infarction volume and allowed the detection of myocardial viability post-infarction in rats