Add the good life to juice

Long glancing at the sweeping success of probiotic yoghurt the international beverage industry has been wishing for a probiotic which is capable of surviving in fruit juice throughout the juice product’s shelf life.

Well, look no further.

After months of research and product development Chr. Hansen—already a leading supplier of documented probiotics for the international dairy and dietary supplements industries—enters new probiotic territory with the launch of ‘L. casei 431^® Juice’, a probiotic developed to survive in low pH environments such as chilled juice and juice drinks.

Proof of concept
“L. casei 431^® Juice contains Lactobacillus paracasei 431^®. This probiotic strain has very strong scientific documentation as well as a long history of use in yoghurt and dietary supplement products,” explains Marie Brenoee, Global Marketing Manager, Probiotic Cultures, Chr. Hansen. “With a survival of eight weeks, thus securing long shelf life for the beverage product, L. casei 431^® Juice outperforms competitive products in the marketplace. Further, L. casei 431^® Juice has no side effects in the beverage such as unpleasant off-flavor or gas formation. We simply consider the strain the probiotic juice category’s ‘proof of concept’.”

To tackle traditional production risks associated with adding live probiotic bacteria to juice after pasteurization—risks such as molds, yeasts and cross contamination of the juice plant—Chr. Hansen teamed up with Swedish processing and food safety expert Tetra Pak. Together Tetra Pak and Chr. Hansen has developed a unique inoculation system which guarantees safe production of probiotic juice.

Consumer interest
“As consumers familiarize with the benefits of probiotics new food applications are being tested by the F&B industry and we are confident that consumers are will welcome juice with added health benefits, the carrier being something as natural as probiotics. We are looking forward to supporting beverage producers who wish to explore the opportunities of the probiotic juice category – or as we say: add the good life to juice,” ends Marie Brenoee.