Qualità microbiologica e profilo acidico di latti fermentati commerciali

In this work, 20 fermented milk samples from the Italian market were evaluated for quality and nutritional value. In particular, the live lactic acid bacteria number and fatty acid profile were investigated during storage time. Overall, the results showed that the samples tested contained living lactic bacteria cocci and lactobacilli sp. in high numbers (i.e., 107 to 1010 cfu/mL) more than the minimum values required to assure a positive effect from their consumption. The fatty acid profile was highly variable among the different fermented milks, oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid were the major fatty acids found in all samples. The content of cis9 trans11 CLA and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3 n3) was interestingly higher than other published data on yoghurt from cow’s milk. The wide variability in the fatty acid composition of commercial fermented milk analysed results in the change of nutritional indexes, as in the ratio n6/n3 which varied from 2 to 7.5.