Microwave drying in fluidized bed to dehydrate microencapsulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Temperature control strategies

[EN] Alginate microcapsules containing cell yeasts of the species Saccharomyces cerivisae, used as a reference microorganism, were studied here to improve the protection of cell activity during food processing. Here a novel drying process was proposed to optimize processing conditions. The dehydration of microcapsules by microwaves and under near fluidizing conditions (NFMD), allows performing dehydration employing lower temperatures to maintain high viability levels and a high quality end product. Thus, strategies based on the combination of different thermal gradients and processing temperatures were analysed through a series of NFMD experiments.