Chapter 8 - Current trends and opportunities of plant-based non-alcoholic probiotic beverages: A European and African perspective

Abstract

Although dairy-based foods have been the main probiotic food sources, a range of plant-based products are currently being developed to meet the needs of vegetarians, lactose intolerant persons, individuals on low cholesterol diets or allergic to milk proteins. This chapter reviews the plant based non-alcoholic probiotic beverages in Europe and Africa. It begins with an introduction of regulations that govern the production, safety and marketing of probiotic beverages in Europe and Africa, followed by a discussion of the commercial, traditional, and experimental studies of plant-based non-alcoholic beverages, categorized as cereals, vegetable/legume, and fruit-based probiotic beverages.