The impact of annealing methods on the encapsulating structure and storage-stability of freeze-dried pellets of probiotic bacteria

At Lund University, Division of Food and Pharma, researchers studied the role of annealing in the freeze-drying of probiotic bacteria. Using the INFORS HT Multifors bioreactor and eve software, they controlled the fermentation of Limosilactobacillus reuteri to produce consistent cell cultures for downstream drying. Their results show that increased annealing time leads to thicker encapsulating structures and enhanced storage stability, providing a clearer path to developing more robust probiotic products.