Biography

Shahzad Zafar Iqbal has completed his PhD from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan at the age of 29 years. He has got Government of Pakistan funded fellowship during his PhD to work in the Department of Food Science, Cornell University, NY, USA for 6 months. He served as Assistant Professor in Department of Applied Chemistry, Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan for 18 months. He is currently working as postdoctoral fellow/ senior lecture in Food Safety Research center, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia since 2013. He has published more than 26publications including 24 research article, one book chapter, and one book.

Abstract

Probiotic are recognized as safe ingredient to be use in formulating different food including food, drugs and dietary supplements. Studies have confirmed that probioticare associated to several health benefits i.e. in maintaininga good balance and composition of intestinal flora as well as to increase the resistance against invasion of pathogens. Recently, some probiotic like lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are reported to reduce mold growth and aflatoxins production. Therefore, their use in food products will also effective to avoid the production of harmful food toxins during preservation and storage. Furthermore, the presenceof probiotics in food products may also adversely affect their quality and sensory properties. Recently, studies have been focused to protect the microorganisms through encapsulation technique using different protectants, and by improving the processingand storage conditions. The present presentation will focus to discuss the current development in food probiotics, and future challenges and potential of using probiotics in food products.