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The product provides active ferments and is a source of probiotics for people who are lactose intolerant or have hypercholesterolemia.
With the rise in temperatures there is nothing more appetizing than eating a cold cream. And among the great variety that we have in Mediterranean food, salmorejo is one of the richest and healthiest.
This cold vegetable cream, typical of Andalusian and Spanish cuisine, stands out for being made with Mediterranean components such as tomato, bread, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. All elements that contribute very clearly to health.
Well, a multidisciplinary team made up of researchers from the CSIC of the Fat Institute (IG-CSIC) of Sevillethe start-up Oleica and the Cordovan company Culinary Concepts Group (Salmoreteca) has taken a step by adding a natural ferment to the salmorejo, turning the typical Cordovan cream into a ready-to-eat probiotic vegetable cream.
In other words, just as there are probiotic yogurts, we will also be able to take probiotic salmorejo.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms that have beneficial effects on people, and they can be ingested through food.
Thus, after more than two years of studies, Spanish researchers have managed to add a natural ferment called Lactiplantibacillus pentosus (LPG1) to salmorejo.
And thanks to that, this ‘probiotic’ salmorejo, which will be marketed as a fresh refrigerated product without heat treatment, has more than one billion active ferments per tub.
During the more than two years that have been invested in developing the product, the survival of L. pentosus LPG1 in the salmorejo matrix under various conditions.
In addition, as it is a fresh, unpasteurized product, the biopreservative activity of the ferment against various food pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli.
For this, challenge tests have been developed in which the pathogen is artificially inoculated at high population levels in the presence of the ferment.
Throughout the development process, there was communication with inspectors from the Ministry of Health and Families of the Junta de Andalucía, who supervised all the tests to guarantee the health of the consumer, as it is a ready-to-eat product.
What are the advantages of taking this probiotic salmorejo?
“One of the great advantages of L. pentosus LPG1 is that it is a natural ferment isolated from the table olive production process, so its acclimatization and viability in another vegetable matrix such as salmorejo is very high compared to other probiotic microorganisms whose origin is not vegetable”, he explains. Francisco Noe Arroyo LopezIG-CSIC researcher.
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The probiotic potential of LPG1 has been validated in various in vitro and in vivo studies, the latest in a recent phase 1 clinical trial carried out with researchers from the Maimónides Institute for Biomedical Research of Córdoba (IMIBIC).
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“This new product can be used as a source of beneficial microorganisms for consumers who have a certain degree of lactose intolerance and who cannot consume probiotics through dairy products, or who need a low cholesterol diet. All this added to the nutritional advantages that salmorejo already brings to the diet, such as being a source of lycopenes, vitamin C, oleic acid, polyphenols, etc.”, concludes Dr. Arroyo López.
The University of Córdoba (UCO) has also contributed to the market launch of this new food, thanks to the issuance of reports and communication with the health authorities, which has allowed its recognition as a safe product and with the probiotic label. .