Foods that affect specific functions or systems in the human body, providing health benefits beyond energy and nutrients-functional foods-have experienced rapid market growth in recent years. This growth is fueled by technological innovations, development of new products, and the increasing number of health-conscious consumers interested in products that improve life quality. Since the global market of functional foods is increasing annually, food product development is a key research priority and a challenge for both the industry and science sectors. Probiotics show considerable promise for the expansion of the dairy industry, especially in such specific sectors as yogurts, cheeses, beverages, ice creams, and other desserts. This article presents an overview of functional foods and strategies for their development, with particular attention to probiotic dairy products. Moreover, special attention is paid to the sensory properties of such products to provide important information about their most desirable attributes.

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The effect of different overrun levels on the sensory acceptance and survival of probiotic bacteria in ice cream was investigated. Vanilla ice creams supplemented with Lactobacillus acidophilus were processed with overruns of 45%, 60%, and 90%. Viable probiotic bacterial counts and sensory acceptance were assessed. All the ice creams presented a minimum count of 6 log CFU/g at the end of 60 d of frozen storage. However, higher overrun levels negatively influenced cell viability, being reported a decrease of 2 log CFU/g for the 90% overrun treatment. In addition, it was not reported an influence about acceptability with respect to appearance, aroma, and taste of the ice creams (P > 0.05). Overall, the results suggest that lower overrun levels should be adopted during the manufacture of ice cream in order to maintain its probiotic status through the shelf life.

The present study describes the implementation of a food safety system in a dairy processing plant located in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and the challenges found during the process. In addition, microbiological indicators have been used to assess system's implementation performance. The steps involved in the implementation of a food safety system included a diagnosis of the prerequisites, implementation of the good manufacturing practices (GMPs), sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), training of the food handlers, and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP). In the initial diagnosis, conformity with 70.7% (n=106) of the items analyzed was observed. A total of 12 critical control points (CCPs) were identified: (1) reception of the raw milk, (2) storage of the raw milk, (3 and 4) reception of the ingredients and packaging, (5) milk pasteurization, (6 and 7) fermentation and cooling, (8) addition of ingredients, (9) filling, (10) storage of the finished product, (11) dispatching of the product, and (12) sanitization of the equipment. After implementation of the food safety system, a significant reduction in the yeast and mold count was observed (p<0.05). The main difficulties encountered for the implementation of food safety system were related to the implementation of actions established in the flow chart and to the need for constant training/adherence of the workers to the system. Despite this, the implementation of the food safety system was shown to be challenging, but feasible to be reached by small-scale food industries.

The results suggest that brown ale beers, and less significantly lager beers, could be sources of bioactive compounds with suitable free radical scavenging properties.

Twelve slices of mozzarella cheese (about 174 g) were packaged in expanded polystyrene trays placed in gas-barrier bags under three different atmospheres (100% N2, 100% CO2, and 50% CO2/50% N2). A gas headspace-to-cheese ratio of 2.5 liters/kg of cheese was initially set in the modified-atmosphere packages. Simulating conventional Brazilian packaging, some trays were wrapped in PVC stretched film. Periodically, the product stored at 7 ± 1°C was evaluated as to its sensorial quality, microbiological condition, and physical and chemical characteristics. The head-space volume and gas composition of modified-atmosphere packages were evaluated, The mozzarella cheese did not show any physical or chemical alteration in all packaging treatments. These characteristics were not factors which limited shelf life in air or in modified atmospheres. The critical parameter was sensory degradation. The shelf life of sliced mozzarella in conventional air pack was 13 days. N2 atmospheres had only a minor effect on shelf life compared with air. Samples under N2 were satisfactory up to 16 days. A significant shelf life increase was verified under CO2 atmospheres compared with air, as follows: 63 days (a 385% increase) and 45 days (a 246% increase) for product under 100% CO2 and 50% CO2/50% N2, respectively. The bacteriostatic and fungistatic effects of CO2 were verified. The growth of psychrotrophic bacteria, molds, and yeasts was slower under CO2 atmospheres. Mold and yeast development was inhibited under 100% CO2 (2 liters of CO2 per kg of cheese).

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