# US 12,757,908 B2 · Food products stable at ambient temperature > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,757,908 B2 - Document ID: US12757908B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/260,814 - Filed: 2019-07-16 - Published: 2021-09-09 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2018-07-17 - Assignees: International N&H Denmark Aps - Applicants: INTERNATIONAL N&H DENMARK ApS - Inventors: Yuejian Mao - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12757908B2 ## CPC - A23C 9/1234: {characterised by using a Lactobacillus sp. other than Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, including Bificlobacterium sp.} - C12N 1/205: Bacterial isolates - A23V 2400/169: Plantarum - C12R 2001/25: Lactobacillus plantarum - A23C: DAIRY PRODUCTS, e.g. MILK, BUTTER OR CHEESE; MILK OR CHEESE SUBSTITUTES; PREPARATION THEREOF (preservation thereof A23B11/00) - C12N: MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA (microbiological testing media C12Q1/00) - A23V: INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION - C12R: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES C12C - C12Q, RELATING TO MICROORGANISMS ## Abstract The application is directed to a process for manufacturing a food product stable at ambient temperature based on the inoculation of a food product with stable lactic acid bacteria able to maintain viability and to slightly decrease pH when stored at ambient temperature. The invention is also directed to the use of these stable lactic acid bacteria for inoculation in a food product. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A process for manufacturing a food product stable at an ambient temperature of 25° C., said process comprising screening for and identifying strains capable of generating a food product stable at an ambient temperature of 25° C., wherein the process comprises adding to an initial food product with a pH of between 3.4 and 4.6, and containing a level of bacteria which is no more than 1×102 CFU per g, one or more stable lactic acid bacteria in a total amount of at least 1×105 CFU per g, to obtain a food product stable at an ambient temperature of 25° C., wherein: (i) each of said one or more stable lactic acid bacterium is selected from a strain of the species Lactobacillus plantarum; and (ii) each of said one or more stable lactic acid bacterium, when added in an amount of 1×107 CFU per g to a test yoghurt having a pH of 4.3, previously heat-treated at 75° C. for 25 seconds: a) retains viability in an amount of at least 5×103 CFU/g after storing said test yoghurt 30 days at a temperature of 37° C.; and b) decreases the pH of said test yoghurt by at most 0.6 units after storing said test yoghurt 30 days at a temperature of 37° C., wherein the strain of the species Lactobacillus plantarum is selected from the group consisting of the strain DSM32493 deposited at the DSMZ on Apr. 26, 2017, the strain DSM33120 deposited at the DSMZ on May 22, 2019, the strain DSM33121 deposited at the DSMZ on May 22, 2019, and a variant of the DSM32493 strain into which the ATP synthase alpha subunit gene of the ATP-synthase operon bears the mutation G to A at its position 506; and wherein the food product is stable at ambient temperature after storing it for 180 days at a temperature of 25° C. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said one or more stable lactic acid bacterium when added in an amount of 1×107 CFU per g to a test yogurt having a pH of 4.3, previously heat-treated at 75° C. for 25 seconds, retains viability in an amount of at least 1×104 CFU/g after storing said test yoghurt 30 days at a temperature of 37° C. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said one or more stable lactic acid bacterium, when added in an amount of 1×107 CFU per g to a test yogurt having a pH of 4.3, previously heat-treated at 75° C. for 25 seconds decreases the pH of said test yoghurt by at most 0.5 units after storing said test yoghurt 30 days at a temperature of 37° C. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said initial food product with a pH of between 3.4 and 4.6 is selected from the group consisting of a fermented dairy product, a chemically-acidified dairy product, a fruit juice, a fermented juice, a vegetable juice, a fermented vegetable juice, a chemically-acidified cereal product, a fermented cereal product, a chemically-acidified rice product, a fermented rice product, a chemically-acidified nut product, a fermented nut product, a fermented soy milk product, and any mixture thereof. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said initial food product with a pH of between 3.4 and 4.6 is a fermented dairy milk product. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said initial food product with a pH of between 3.4 and 4.6 is treated so as to obtain an initial low bacteria-containing food product comprising a level of bacteria which is no more than 1×102 CFU per g of said initial low bacteria-containing food product. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The process according to claim 6, wherein said initial low bacteria-containing food product is a fermented dairy milk product. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein the pH of said initial food product is between 3.4 and 4.0, between 4.0 and 4.6 or between 3.6 and 4.2. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said one or more stable lactic acid bacteria are added to the initial food product in a total amount of at least 5×105 per g. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein said one or more stable lactic acid bacteria are added aseptically to the initial food product. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein the variant when added in an amount of 1×107 CFU per g to a test yoghurt having a pH of 4.3, previously heat-treated at 75° C. for 25 seconds a) retains viability in an amount of at least 5×103 CFU/g after storing said test yoghurt 30 days at a temperature of 37° C.; and b) decreases the pH of said test yoghurt of at most 0.6 units after storing said test yoghurt 30 days at a temperature of 37° C. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein the food product is stable when the amount of stable lactic acid bacteria it contains is at least 1×105 CFU/g and is not decreased more than 3 log. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The process according to claim 1, wherein the initial food product is a yoghurt.