An object of the present invention is to provide a low-alcohol beer-taste beverage having a good balance of sourness, bitterness and sweetness, having a beer-like complex taste and robust feeling of drinking, and having a reduced drool odor and a potato odor. The means of solving the problem is a low-alcohol beer-taste beverage containing less than 40 ?g/L of linalool, more than 30 mg/L and less than 170 mg/L of acetic acid, and a component derived from a wort fermented liquid.

An object of the invention is to provide a low-alcohol beer-taste beverage having a good balance of sourness, bitterness, and sweetness, having a reduced fermented soybeans odor, and exhibiting a refreshing aftertaste. The means of solving the problem is a low-alcohol beer-taste beverage containing more than 50 mg/L and less than 250 mg/L of polyphenols, more than 30 mg/L and less than 170 mg/L of acetic acid, and a component derived from a wort fermented liquid.

An object of the present invention is to provide a low-alcohol beer-taste beverage having a beer-like complex taste and barley-like sweetness, having a good balance between sourness and sweetness, and exhibiting a refreshing aftertaste. A means for solving the problem is a low-alcohol beer-taste beverage containing more than 100 mg/L and less than 600 mg/L of proline, and more than 25 mg/L and less than 200 mg/L of acetic acid.

A process prepares a beverage or beverage component. The process includes an enzymatic treatment of brewer's spent grain including addition of one or a combination of enzymes with alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, cellulase, xylanase, protease and/or beta-glucanase activity and fermentation by a strain of lactic acid bacteria. The combination of enzymes and enzymatic treatment conditions is such that the lactic acid bacteria produce 4.5 g/L lactic acid and metabolise sugar such that the resulting fermented broth contains less than 2.5% w/w and preferably less than 0.5% w/w residual sugar or the lactic acid bacteria produce 4.5 g/L lactic acid and metabolise sugar such that the resulting fermented broth contains at least 2.5% w/w residual sugar.

A method for producing a beer-taste beverage, characterized in that the method includes adding a hop processed product to a raw material liquid from a tightly closed vessel, wherein the hop process product is prepared by heating a hop-containing water under conditions of a temperature of 100 C. or higher and 130 C. or lower, and preferably 105 C. or higher and 125 C. or lower, and a pressure of 0.01 MPa or more and 0.36 MPa or less in the tightly closed vessel, followed by allowing a temperature of a heated hop-containing water to be 10 C. or higher and 90 C. or lower. According to the present invention, the bitterness ingredients and the aroma ingredients can be more conveniently extracted from the hops, so that a new taste can be provided as a luxury product.

New Lactococcus lactis strains, NRRL B-50571 and NRRL B-50572, and a bacterial preparation containing the same, have the ability to produce bioactive peptides that reduce blood pressure, lower LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and present antioxidant properties for better cardiovascular health. These biologically active peptides may be produced within the food for the production of a food product, such as a functional food, or they may be produced from protein sources and subsequently added to a food as part of the formulation or as part of a food supplement or a pharmaceutical preparation.

A fermented beverage and a preparation method are disclosed. The method uses ripened fruits and/or vegetables as raw materials. The method includes performing a natural ripening on a fruit and/or a vegetable at 15? C. to 30? C. for 5 days to 10 days to obtain a ripened fruit and/or vegetable; and inoculating lactic acid bacteria into the ripened fruit and/or vegetable, and performing a fermentation for 10 days to 30 days at 15? C. to 30? C. to obtain the fermented beverage. After 23 days of fermentation, the fermented beverage has a total flavonoid content up to 0.5 mg/mL to 2.0 mg/mL, which is beneficial to human health, a pH of 3.2 to 3.8 and a total titratable acidity of up to 12 mg/mL to 18 mg/mL. The fermented beverage requires a short fermentation cycle, which is beneficial to industrial production.

A method for drying a food product that results in a highly homogenous, low-moisture content powder having significantly reduced particle size without materially altering the flavor profile and/or the nutritional profile of the food product, including the steps of: (1) providing a food product, wherein the food product comprises a fermentation liquid; (2) optionally filtering the food product; and (3) controllably spray drying the food product at high-temperature.

Methods to prepare a fruit ferment containing propionic acid and/or a salt thereof comprising i) obtaining a liquid fruit preparation, ii) optionally supplementing the liquid fruit preparation with water and/or with additional components to support fermentation, iii) fermenting the optionally supplemented liquid fruit preparation with a propionic acid-producing bacterial strain, iv) optionally further processing the fermentation product, to obtain the fruit ferment. Next to a propionic acid-producing bacterial strain, a lactic acid-producing bacterial strain may be used in the fermentation. And, a fruit ferment obtainable by said method.

Useful probiotics have been selected among lactic acid bacteria strains of the genus L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. gasseri, L. helveticus and L. jensenii for their ability to kill urogenital and/or gastrointestinal pathogens and their ability to inhibit internalization of urogenital and/or gastrointestinal pathogens within urogenital and/or gastrointestinal epithelial cells in humans. Probiotic compositions comprise at least one of the said lactic acid bacteria strains in combination with a suitable delivery system, such as a food product or a beverage, a food or beverage compositions, a food or beverage supplement or adjuvant.