Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Significant information about the consumption of probiotic products have been published emphasizing their health benefits when consumed regularly. Antimicrobial activity, improvement in lactose metabolism, reduction in serum cholesterol, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties, immune system stimulation, and prevention of gastrointestinal infections are some of actions. Dairy and non-dairy products can be vehicles for probiotic strains that have been studied and developed intensively by many researchers and industries. The use of dairy matrices is limited by problems such as lactose intolerance, allergenic milk proteins and cholesterol content. In this sense, cereal, fruit juice, vegetable, and soybean beverages have demonstrated to be a suitable non-dairy alternative for delivering probiotics. Current technological innovations and some factors that influence the stability and viability of probiotic strains in these products have been discussed. In this chapter an overview about traditional and commercially available dairy and non-dairy probiotic products as well as the technological aspects for its successful production is presented.