Greek researchers say feta has probiotic potential

Dive Brief:

• A new study suggests probiotic feta could hold promise as a functional food, according to Dairy Reporter.
• Published in Food Microbiology, the study found that feta cheese with a probiotic strain called Lactobacillus plantarum T571 had similar taste and mouthfeel to regular, non-probiotic feta.
• Probiotic foods need to contain at least six log colony-forming units per gram to qualify as probiotic foods. Researchers found feta cheese met this threshold, even after nine months of appropriate cold storage. In addition, the probiotic strain reduced the growth of listeria in the cheese, a potentially fatal cause of foodborne illness.

Dive Insight:

Yakult and Danone’s Activia brand were pioneers in the probiotic sector, but the gut health category has flourished in recent years, taking probiotics and their purported health benefits well beyond the dairy aisle. Yogurts are still the most popular probiotic-fortified products, but others include cereals, baked goods, juices and even confectionery. Kellogg added probiotics to its Special K cereal and launched Special K Nourish late last year, and PepsiCo launched its Tropicana Essentials Probiotics range of juices in 2016.

Growing consumer demand for probiotic value-adds has even led to innovations beyond health food, such as UK-based Ohso Good Chocolate. From a food science perspective, the creation of probiotic chocolate is interesting because the bacteria can be fussy about its environment. Still, mainstream consumers may be concerned about how probiotics could impact the taste of indulgence products, while more health-conscious shoppers may prefer a healthier vehicle for their gut health remedies.

For probiotic feta, success may depend on whether consumers see the cheese as a healthy part of their diet. In Greece, where feta is almost universally eaten — and where this latest research was carried out — adding health benefits to the cheese without impacting sensory characteristics is an obvious win-win. In the U.S., where many consumers might see cheese as a more indulgent product, the product could face bigger hurdles. On the other hand, consumers already associate probiotics strongly with dairy, meaning that probiotic cheese may be a shorter conceptual leap than probiotic confectionery.

According to Packaged Facts, about a quarter of U.S. adults seek out foods and beverages high in probiotics or prebiotics, and their popularity shows no sign of slowing down. A recent report from BCC Research predicts the probiotics market will reach $50 billion by 2020.​ Whether or not probiotic cheeses become a robust category as part of this growth remains to be seen, but it’s likely that the value-add will continue to expand to new food and beverage categories.