Microencapsulation with spray-chilling as an innovative strategy for probiotic low sodium requeijão cremoso processed cheese processing

The effect of sodium reduction and Lactobacillus acidophilus addition (free or microencapsulated) on the quality parameters of requeijão cremoso processed cheese was assessed for 90 days at 5 °C. Three formulations were prepared: (CONT) regular salt content and curd fusion (90 °C/2 min), (FREE) reduced salt content + free probiotic culture added after curd fusion (90 °C/2 min), and (MICRO) reduced salt content + microencapsulated probiotic culture added before curd fusion (70 °C/5 min). FREE and MICRO formulations showed increased monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acid content, improved health indices (decreases in thrombogenic index and increases in desirable fatty acid index), and altered rheological properties (higher consistency index, apparent viscosity, elastic properties, and gel strength). In addition, the MICRO formulation showed higher texture sensory acceptance and probiotic counts higher than 6 log CFU/g during storage and simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Overall, microencapsulation of probiotics with spray chilling represents an innovative solution in requeijao cremoso processed cheese.