Abstract

Research was undertaken to test two strains of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501^® andLactobacillus paracasei IMC 502^®) to ferment and survive in four different kinds of fruit and vegetable juices. Their viability wasalso tested when, once incorporated in a microgranule matrix, were added to the same juices and stored at room temperature. The probiotic bacteria grew well in all four kinds of juice during the fermentation period and were capable of surviving and maintaining high viability in the all fermented juices during storage at 4°C. The juices enriched with microgranules and stored at 22°C maintained their stability during the storage without any changes in terms of probiotic viability and pH alterations.