A comparison of Probiotic and Standard yogurt based on branding (premium and basic brands), consumer preference, sensory evaluation, microbiological and nutritional analysis.

Yogurt is a type of dairy product and it is made by the addition of starter cultures like Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Specific cultures like Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium (probiotic cultures) are also sometimes added to it to make the yogurt probiotic. The aim of this research is to compare probiotic and standard yogurts on the basis of branding (premium and basic brands), microbiological analysis, nutritional analysis, consumer preference, and sensory evaluation. This research is a novel one and very important in the field of dairy science because although some research has been done in comparing probiotic and standard yogurts e.g. (Hussain, Attiq-ur-Rahman, et al. 2009), there is no research that compares them on so many levels. Four yogurt products were purchased from different supermarkets in Preston, UK. Microbiological analysis (such as total viable counts and gram stain), nutritional analysis (such as macro and micro nutrient compositions), consumer preference analysis (by questionnaire), and sensory analysis (by blind tasting) were conducted using the yogurts purchased. SPSS and Microsoft excel were used to analyze the results. The non-probiotic yogurts had a higher total viable count than the probiotic ones and Lactobacillus and Streptococcus spp. were confirmed in all the samples. The research also showed that the nutritional composition of the products varied irrespective of the cultures present (probiotic or standard) and brand (premium or basic) of the yogurts. The results also showed that most of the participants had little or no idea about the meaning of probiotics and that the major reasons that influenced their yogurt choice was cost, availability and taste. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that the non-probiotic yogurts were rated higher than the probiotic ones in terms of taste, texture, appearance and overall quality. More awareness should be done to ensure that consumers know the importance of probiotic products and probiotic yogurts should be sold at reasonable prices to promote sales. Further research need to be done on a wider scale and with different yogurt products both commercially and laboratory manufactured.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

msc

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Central Lancashire

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Ebojie, Onoguese Obehi

• Y - Combined/general subject unspecified

Language dc:language

en