Bioprotective lactic acid bacteria with low postacidification

A method of producing a fermented milk product, comprising adding a Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain to a milk product to obtain a mixture and fermenting the mixture at a temperature between about 22° C. and about 43° C. until a pH of 4.6 or less is reached, wherein the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain is selected from:

• (i) a Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH (Braunschweig, Germany) (DSMZ) under accession number DSM 33515 and;
• (ii) a mutant strain thereof obtained from the deposited strain of part (i), wherein the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain exhibits the following properties:
• (a) increases the pH of a test fermented milk product by at least 0.1 during storage after fermentation as compared to a milk product comprising a Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain deposited at the DSMZ under accession number DSM 32092, wherein the test fermented milk product is obtained by fermenting a milk product with a starter culture and at least 107 CFU/g of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain, and wherein the increase in pH is determined after storing the test fermented milk product for 28 days at 25° C.;
• and
• (b) decreases growth of molds in a test fermented milk product during storage after fermentation as compared to a milk product that does not comprise the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain, wherein the test fermented milk product is obtained by fermenting a milk product with a starter culture and at least 107 CFU/g of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain, wherein the decrease in growth of molds is determined after storing the test fermented milk product for 28 days at 7° C.