Sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of fruit juice containing probiotics beads in Thailand

Abstract

Although the survival of probitoics in fruit juices, which were nominated to be a good probiotic carrier, could be improved by using microencapsulation technique in alginate bead coated with chitosan, the satisfactoriness of the consumer must be considered. Consumer assessment and sensory evaluation of this product were performed by consumers in Thailand and by using descriptive analysis, respectively. Four hundred consumers from Bangkok and the suburbs of Bangkok were served with orange and grape juices containing probiotic beads together with questionnaire in order to determine the consumer demographic, buying behavior and consumer acceptance. Most consumers bought fruit juice due to its taste (9.6) and nutritional value (8.9). However, the addition of probiotic beads influenced the sensory quality of the product by increasing the swallowing difficulty and remaining particles of the products. The majority of consumers accepted orange and grape juices containing probiotic beads (82.3 and 84.3%, respectively), giving scores of texture and overall preferences as 6.6 and 6.7 for orange juice; and 6.8 and 6.9 for grape juice. Application of probiotic beads also increased turbidity of grape juice. Moreover, more than 86% of the participants were willing to try and purchase the product, reflecting existence of a potential market for fruit juice containing probiotic beads.