Spouted bed as an efficient processing for probiotic orange juice drying.

This study evaluated the influence of spouted bed drying temperature and maltodextrin dextrose equivalent on the probiotic microbial survival during drying and storage period and on physicochemical properties of fermented probiotic orange juice in powder. Probiotic orange juice was spouted bed dried at 60, 70, 80 and 90°C using maltodextrin with a different dextrose equivalent (10, 20, 30 and 39). After drying, the microbial was higher when lower drying temperatures were applied. During the storage, the highest drying temperatures (80 and 90°C) negatively affected the microorganism survival. On the other hand, at the lowest drying temperature (60°C), the product presented higher Aw, what negatively affected the microbial survival during storage. The temperature of 70°C was the best to preserve the microbial viability during storage. Physicochemical parameters were improved when temperature increased and dextrose equivalent decreased.