Today’s consumers are no longer content to purchase food based only upon traditional factors of taste, aroma and appearance. Equally important to the purchase decision is whether or not the food is perceived as “healthy.” So it is only natural that foods containing live microorganisms thought to have a beneficial effect on the body – otherwise known as “probiotics” – have become a consumer favorite at home and abroad.
Food manufacturers – especially those with products in the dairy case – have been quick to acknowledge consumer acceptance of the long-standing association of probiotics with health and wellness benefits and have added lactic acid-producing varieties such as Bifidobacteria or Lactobacilli to products as diverse as yogurt, kefir, juices and waters.