Shelf life study of developed reduced fat Synbiotic cream cheese

Abstract

Cream cheese is a soft, rich, creamy white, unripened cheese with slightly acidic and diacetyl flavour. The focus of the present study was to study the shelf life of the developed Reduced fat cream cheese (RFCC) prepared by addition of 1% probiotic (Lactobacillus helveticus) culture along with 4% inulin in comparison with the control cream cheese sample both packed in 150 ml of polypropylene cups, sealed with aluminium foil and kept at 7-8o C in refrigerator. The developed synbiotic reduced cream cheese was found to have a higher shelf life (24 days) than the control (20days).Sensory profile, physico-chemical properties and microbial count also varied significantly as the storage progressed. Free fatty acid (FFA) content of both the samples increased throughout the storage period. The viability of probiotic culture was better in RFCC with inulin than in control.