Technological aspects of probiotic functional food development

Fermented food containing live cultures called probiotics are considered as fermented functional foods. Probiotics, when consumed in adequate numbers, provide a health benefit directly or indirectly by production of metabolites to the host. The development of probiotic products is a research priority and challenge for both industry and science sectors due to increasing consumer awareness of their ability to maintain good health along with the supply of essential nutrition. This review presents an overview of probiotic food development, various matrices for probiotic foods, and processing and packaging of probiotic foods.