Robustness-by-design for Probiotic Foods: Mechanisms, Non-thermal Stress Conditioning, and Engineered...

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Microbiology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Probiotic bioactivity is often compromised by processing, storage, and digestion, leading to counts below the effective level (10⁷ CFU/g).
• Maintaining microbial cell viability is a significant challenge for manufacturers of probiotic foods.
• Omics technologies identify stress responses but have limited application in scalable process design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate microbial stress physiology, bioprocesses, and food matrix engineering for robust probiotic product design.
• To analyze biological mechanisms of stress tolerance and discuss preadaptation strategies.
• To propose a robustness-by-design approach for enhancing probiotic bioactivity and ensuring stability.

Main Methods:

• Review of microbial stress physiology and omics technologies.
• Analysis of preadaptation strategies: sublethal exposure to heat, acid, bile, ultrasound, pulsed electric fields, and high-pressure processing.
• Consideration of encapsulation systems as protective structures.
• Integration of survival kinetics and biomarkers for process design.

Main Results:

• Biological mechanisms conferring increased tolerance to environmental stresses are identified.
• Preadaptation strategies and encapsulation show potential for reducing stress and maintaining viability.
• A robustness-by-design framework is proposed, starting with strain and food selection, followed by adaptive stress treatments.

Conclusions:

• A robustness-by-design approach, combining preadaptation and encapsulation, can enhance probiotic survival and bioactivity in food products.
• Integrating survival kinetics and biomarkers is crucial for designing stable and safe industrial-scale probiotic food processes.
• Biosafety considerations are paramount for the successful development of robust probiotic foods.