After more than two years of studies a probiotic vegetable cream ready for consumption. Probiotics are live microorganisms that have beneficial effects on people, and they can be ingested through food.
Salmorejo is a cold vegetable cream, typical of Andalusian and Spanish cuisine, very healthy due to the Mediterranean components used in its preparation, such as tomato, bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and now, also thanks to the addition of the natural ferment Lactiplantibacillus pentosus (LPG1). This salmorejo, which will be marketed as a fresh refrigerated product without heat treatment, contains more than one billion active ferments per tub.
This salmorejo will be marketed as a fresh refrigerated product and contains more than one billion active ferments per tub
During the more than two years that have been invested in developing the product, the survival of L. pentosus LPG1 in the salmorejo matrix under various conditions has been studied. In addition, as it is a fresh, unpasteurized product, the biopreservative activity of the ferment against various food pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli has also been studied.
To do this, challenge trials have been developed in which the pathogen is artificially inoculated at high population levels in the presence of the ferment. Throughout the development process, it was in communication with inspectors from the Ministry of Health and Families of the Junta de Andalucía, who supervised all the tests to guarantee the health of the consumer as it is a ready-to-eat product.
“One of the great advantages that L. pentosus LPG1 has is that it is a natural ferment isolated from the table olive production process, so its acclimatization and viability in another vegetable matrix such as salmorejo is very high compared to other probiotic microorganisms whose origin is not vegetable”, explains Francisco Noé Arroyo López, researcher at the IG-CSIC.
Consumable for people with lactose intolerance or with cholesterol
The probiotic potential of LPG1 has been validated in various in vitro and in vivo studies, the latest in a recent phase 1 clinical trial carried out with researchers from the Maimonides Institute for Biomedical Research of Córdoba (IMIBIC).
“This new product can be used as a source of beneficial microorganisms for consumers who have a certain degree of lactose intolerance and who cannot consume probiotics through dairy products, or who need a low cholesterol diet. All this added to the nutritional advantages that salmorejo already brings to the diet, such as being a source of lycopenes, vitamin C, oleic acid, polyphenols, etc., “concludes Dr. Arroyo López.
The University of Córdoba (UCO) has also contributed to the market launch of this new food, thanks to the issuance of reports and communication with the health authorities, which has allowed its recognition as a safe product and with the probiotic label. .
Source: CSIC
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