How to Fortify a Fish Burger with Probiotic Microorganisms

In this study, the suitability of fish as substrate to be fortified by a probiotic bacterial strain was investigated. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) was used to the aim of the work. The study was first focused on the optimization of LGG microencapsulation by water-in-oil emulsion technique to avoid bacterial viability loss during cooking. Once the best microencapsulation conditions were individuated, the amount of microencapsulated probiotic to be added to the burger was increased to assure desired levels of viable LGG in the cooked fish burger. To assess the efficiency of the adopted fortification method, acid lactic bacterial count was monitored during every step of microcapsules preparation process as well as in both cooked and uncooked enriched fish samples. In order to evaluate the final acceptance of the fortified burger, the sensory properties of fortified fish burger were also assessed. Results demonstrated that proper microencapsulation conditions together with appropriate concentration of microencapsulated LGG into fish formulation would allow realizing probiotic-fortified burgers, also prized from a microbiological and sensory point of view with a consequent longer shelf life.