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

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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.