ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to establish new food products that increase the nutritional value and health benefits of the probiotic yogurt currently used in the Western Heads East (WHE) Project in Mwanza, Tanzania. The probiotic yogurt has established health benefits, and product development through fortification must not adversely affect the acceptability of yogurt or the viability of the probiotics. Both sensory testing and microbial analysis testing were conducted. The products tested were yogurt fortified with locally-grown fruit purees with inulin and Moringa oleifera. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that all yogurts were not rated significantly different from the control, except for appearance. The avocado puree without inulin rated significantly lower in all categories. The microbial analysis showed that Moringa oleifera did not negatively affect the growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 in MRS, milk or yogurt, although a significant decrease was found after 5 weeks of storage at 4 oC.