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PlantLact - New functional dairy products without synthetic preservatives


Project Type: Nacional / Público
Financial Program: PRODER - Medida 4.1
IPB Funding Value: 79938.60 €
Type of project: Research Project
Principal Investigator: Isabel Cristina Fernandes Rodrigues Ferreira
Start: 2014-01-01
End: 2015-12-31
Description: The new century has brought many changes in the food chain. These changes are due to shifting consumer habits, production cost reduction and alterations to meet higher quality criteria. One of these changes is the demand for food with a longer shelf-life with the least production cost. Inversely, the use of cheap chemical conservatives has been diminishing due to consumer reluctance and marketing strategies. The dairy sector suffers with reduced shelf life in some products and quality decrease in others that withstand longer periods. Among the Portuguese flora, many plants stand out as having excellent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties which can be useful to be incorporated into dairy products by increasing shelf life and conferring bioactive properties. These new dairy products are free of chemical conservatives and therefore safe for consumption while displaying added value due to their bioactive properties. The association of the two might even yield new flavors and new products with good results in the dairy sector.