Fermented Milks Fortified with B-group Vitamins: Vitamin Stability and Effect on Resulting Products

Four fermented milks were made from cow's milk fortified with B-group vitamins (thiamine (B 1 ), riboflavin (B 2 ), pyridoxine, pyridoxal, pyridoxamine and folic acid) inoculated with different mixed probiotic cultures. Fermented milks made from non-fortified milk were used as controls. Some vitamins were partly lost during heating of the milk and fermentation but the level of all vitamins remained stable during storage for 16 days at 4°C. Species and strain of the culture were clearly found to affect the vitamin level throughout fermentation and storage of the products. Fortification was observed as having no impact on the composition or sensory properties of the products, attributes that were found to be mainly dependent on the culture. At the fortification level applied, fermented products could be a good alternative to dietary supplements, because they are readily consumed and combine the beneficial effects of probiotic microorganisms with important amounts of valuable vitamins.