Microbiological analysis of synbiotic cottage cheese using Lactobacillus acidophilus (la-5) and Lactobacillus casei (ncdc-298) with pectin

Cottage cheese is a fermented milk product, wherein addition of probiotics can confer a health benefit on the host. The study was conducted to estimate the probiotic viability and microbiological attributes of the synbiotic cottage cheese using Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA-5) and Lactobacillus casei (NCDC-298) with pectin. The synbiotic cottage cheese was prepared and stored at 4 °C for 14 days during which the microbiological attributes were studied on day 0, 3, 7 and 14. The highest viable probiotic count was observed for T4 (9.10 ± 0.84 log10 cfu/g) on day 3 of storage and the count significantly decreased to 8.50 ± 0.47 log10 cfu/g on day 14 of storage. The lowest count was observed for T2 (8.36 ± 0.42 log10 cfu/g) on day 14 storage. The highest coliform count (1.58 ± 0.40 log10 cfu/g) was noticed for T2 on day 3 of storage and lowest (0.69 ± 0.22 log10 cfu/g) was noticed for T3 on day 14 of storage. The yeast and mould count increased significantly (P