I-Corps: Manufacturing method for blends of anhydrous probiotic bacteria and low-water, high-fat content nut butters

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是转化一种制造技术，使用花生和其他坚果黄油生产一种货架稳定的益生菌补充剂。某些食品中益生菌的可获得性已成为注重健康的消费者选择加工食品的主要因素。食品中的益生菌可以提供许多好处，包括限制肠道致病菌的生长，减少腹胀，帮助控制某些消化问题，如乳糖不耐受，以及增强营养吸收。然而，保质期和冷藏需求是阻碍益生菌食品广泛采用的主要因素。美国人每年消费约8亿磅花生酱，2018年美国坚果黄油市场总额为23亿美元。这项拟议技术的目的是确定在坚果黄油中提供常温下保质期长的健康益生菌来源的要求。在花生酱和其他烹饪黄油中添加益生菌对健康的好处可能会给这些产品带来竞争优势。这个i-Corps项目基于探索一种食品制造技术的转换，以生产含有益生菌的坚果黄油。这种制造方法使用了无水益生菌和低水分活性、高脂肪含量的烹饪黄油的混合物，这些黄油是由烤坚果制成的。通常，浆料是由冷冻干燥的益生菌和食用油制成的，随后在添加融化的结构脂肪时，在脂肪结晶和产品包装之前，将其混合到温暖的坚果黄油中。在这种无水脂肪食品环境中分散和储存益生菌有助于保持益生菌在室温下更长时间的存活。在12个月的时间里，通过测量在4 oC和20 oC下储存在多种低水分活性、脂肪类食品(包括花生酱、无水乳脂和棕榈油)中的不同细菌的菌落形成单位(CFU)数量，测试了益生菌的长期生存能力。室温稳定的益生菌产品在运输或储存期间不需要冷藏。消除价值链中的冷藏对消费者定价和销售便利性都很重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the translation of a manufacturing technology to produce a shelf-stable probiotic supplement using peanut and other nut butters. The availability of probiotics in certain food products has become a major factor in the choice of processed foods by health-conscious consumers. Probiotics in foods may provide a number of benefits, including limiting the growth of pathogenic gut bacteria, reducing bloating, helping to control certain digestive problems such as lactose intolerance, and enhancing nutrient absorption. However, the shelf-life and the need for refrigeration is a major deterrent in the widespread adoption of probiotics food products. Americans consume about 800 million pounds of peanut butter a year and the U.S. market for nut butters totaled $2.3 billion in 2018. The aim of the proposed technology is to define the requirements of providing in nut butters a healthy source of probiotics with a long shelf-life at room temperature. The health benefits from the addition of probiotics to peanut butter and other culinary butters may give these products a competitive advantage.This I-Corps project is based exploring the translation of a food manufacturing technology to produce nut butters with probiotics. This manufacturing method uses blends of anhydrous probiotic bacteria and low-water activity, high-fat content culinary butters made from roasted nuts. Typically, a slurry is made from freeze-dried probiotic bacteria and edible oil, which is subsequently blended into a warm nut butter at the time of the addition of melted structuring fat and before fat crystallization and product packaging. Dispersing and storing probiotics in such an anhydrous fatty food environment helps keep probiotic bacteria viable for a longer time at room temperature. Long-term viability of probiotic bacteria was tested over a 12-month period by measuring the number of colony-forming units (CFU) from the different bacteria stored at 4 oC and 20 oC in multiple low-water activity, fat-based foods including peanut butter, anhydrous butterfat, and palm fat. Room temperature-stable probiotics products do not require refrigeration during shipping or storage. Eliminating cold storage in the value chain is important for both consumer pricing and sales convenience.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.