Encapsulation of probiotics in W1/O/W2 emulsion for coaxial 3D printing probiotic-enriched cheese products

Cheddar cheese was used as outer core for coaxial 3D printing, serving as an ideal probiotic carrier. • W 1 /O/W 2 emulsions were prepared to protect probiotics and applied as inner core for coaxial 3D printing. • Probiotic-enriched cheese products with personalized shapes were successfully fabricated via coaxial 3D printing. Cheddar cheese serves as a promising probiotic carrier; however, it is not inherently suitable for direct 3D printing. Herein, processed cheese fortified with whey protein nanofibrils (WPNFs) was fabricated to obtain desirable printability. Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp) was pre-stabilized via supramolecular self-assembly with WPNFs and subsequently encapsulated within the inner aqueous phase of W 1 /O/W 2 double emulsions. The formulated double emulsion exhibited outstanding stability and efficiently shielded entrapped probiotics against adverse pH, thermal treatment, storage and extrusion damage, retaining a high survival rate of 90.44% after 14 days of storage at 4 °C. Via coaxial printing, the W 1 /O/W 2 inner core was embedded into the WPNFs-modified processed cheese shell (F20). The printed construct achieved an initial dimensional deviation of merely 0.5% ± 1.5%, with the value shifting to −3.5% ± 1.5% after a 14-day storage period at 4 °C. The final printed cheese delivered an Lp survival rate of over 95% (6.78–8.06 log 10  CFU/g). The outer cheese matrix effectively safeguarded the inner core, preserved the original cheese flavor, and inhibited undesirable flavor leakage from the inner phase. Collectively, W 1 /O/W 2 encapsulation enables viable probiotic incorporation into coaxial 3D printed customized functional foods. Download: Download high-res image (350KB) Download: Download full-size image