Acta Scientiarum http://periodicos.uem.br/ojs ISSN on-line: 1807-8664 Doi: 10.4025/actascitechnol.v43i1.55119 SCIENCE, FOOD TECHNOLOGY AND FOOD ENGINEERING Acta Scientiarum. Technology, v. 43, e55119, 2021 Physicochemical and sensory characteristics of Coppa with Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. Lactis (BB12) probiotic Vitória Polli Camargo 1 , Nayara Catanio 1 , Annecler Rech de Marins 2 , Rita de Cássia Bergamasco 1 , Raquel Guttierres Gomes 1 and Andresa Carla Feihrmann 1,2* 1 Departamento de Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. 2 Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Av. Colombo, 5790, 87020-900, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. *Author for correspondence. E-mail: andresafeihrmann@gmail.com ABSTRACT. Motivated by the growing demand for functional foods, probiotics added to food products is a reality in the market. Its application in fermented sausages is considered promising, as its processing does not use heat treatment and with that there is no considerable loss of these microorganisms. In this study, the application of microencapsulated Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis (BB12) was carried out in coppa. Three treatments were developed, consisting of control (C) without probiotic, BB1 with the addition of probiotic and 0.02% curing salt, and BB2 with probiotic and 50% reduction in curing salt (0.01%). Subsequently, possible changes in the physicochemical and sensory characteristics were analyzed, as well as the viability of the culture in the fermented product. All samples were presented according to the Brazilian legislation for the attributes of moisture, protein, and lipids. Probiotics showed a positive influence on the stabilization of lipid oxidation and microencapsulated probiotics proved to be viable after the ripening period of 30 days in treatment BB2. There was no significant difference between the samples for sensory analysis, so it is possible to state that the addition of BB12 is an alternative to obtain a product with all the benefits of functional foods. Keywords: Functional food; meat products; fermented products. Received on August 5, 2020. Accepted on November 10, 2020. Introduction Human body is exposed and linked to several types of microorganisms, which are present, for example, in skin, oral cavity, and intestinal tract (Tang & Lu, 2019). Currently, intestinal microbiota is the main target of studies, and current results suggest that intestinal dysbiosis is related to several diseases (Novik & Savich, 2020). Thus, the search for functional foods grows, and among them are those that contain the application of probiotic microorganisms. Probiotics are defined as microorganisms that in adequate quantities benefit their hosts (Ministério da Saúde - Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária [Anvisa], 2018). Studies present the beneficial effects promoted by probiotics, mainly the improvement of intestinal transit and the relief of lactose indigestion (De Vuyst, Falony, & Leroy, 2008; Nath et al., 2018; Cao et al., 2020; Liz et al., 2020) and their action can occur according to several mechanisms. Cavalheiro et al. (2015) showed that the most known and used microorganisms are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterias. Probiotic bacteria have been successfully used for some time, mainly in dairy products, since their application in fermented meat sausages is considered a promising market because processing does not use heat treatment and with that, there is no considerable loss of these microorganisms. Besides that, the meat matrix works as a protector during digestion of the human body, so that in this way probiotics have a bioprotective role in the organism (Ruiz-Moyano et al., 2011; Cavalheiro et al., 2015). Fermented meat has its own characteristics and sensorially its attributes are distinct, thus being appreciated by consumers (Cid, Belletti, Aymerich, & Garriga, 2017). According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Brasil, 2020), coppa is an industrialized meat product, obtained from the complete cut of the pork carcass, called neck or pallet, added with ingredients, matured, dried, smoked or not, with the addition of sugars, salts, nitrite and/or nitrate, in addition to starter cultures. The curing salts nitrite and sodium nitrate are food additives widely used in meat products, to contribute to the fixation of the redness color in the curing process, which is desirable for sensory aspects, in addition to