Elaboration and physicochemical and sensory characterization of prebiotic yogurt sweetened with honey

Abstract

With society’s growing concern about eating healthy foods, the food industry constantly seeks to develop less calorie products, associated with the presence of ingredients with functional properties. Thus, taking advantage of the wide acceptance of yogurt, the industry has been using it as a vehicle for inclusion of prebiotic compounds. Therefore, the objective of this work was the preparation and characterization, physicochemical and sensory, of light yogurts sweetened with honey and supplemented with prebiotics inulin and fructooligosaccharides. Three formulations were prepared: A (control – free of prebiotics), B (with addition of 3% inulin) and C (3% of fructooligosaccharides) that were submitted to physical and chemical analysis of moisture, ash, pH, titratable acidity and lipids; and sensory analysis of acceptance and purchase intent. The results were statistically similar for all physical and chemical parameters assessed, except moisture. Concerning the sensory analysis, it was observed that, statistically, the addition of prebiotics did not cause significant interference (p < 0.05) in the evaluated sensorial parameters, as all samples showed good acceptance with rates of over 70%, highlighting the similarity acceptance of samples supplemented with prebiotics in relation to the formulation control. Regarding the intention to purchase, formulation C stood out in a small numerical advantage, but not statistical, over the other formulations, being this the most viable for commercialization. Thus, it was possible to highlight the feasibility of including prebiotics in light yogurt sweetened with honey formulations in order to contribute to the diversification of the dairy sector and meet the population’s demands for healthy food.