EVALUATION OF ORGANOLEPTIC &IN-VITRO BIOAVAILABILITY PROPERTIES OF IRON FORTIFIED YOGURT

Yogurt is a fermented dairy product formed by the action of Lactobacillus spp. with the help of lactic acid fermentation procedure.In India major cause of anaemia is dietary iron deficiency.Iron deficiency causes poor cognitive performance, behavioural abnormalities, poor physical growth of children, disturbed immune function, lack of physical activity and poor work performance in all age groups. Worldwide dairy foods are most popular nutritious product so dairy foods may be used as a vehicle of food fortification. The iron compound which are used as a food fortificant should contain highly bioavailable iron and the physical chemical characteristics of the fortified food product should be similar to non-fortified product. In the present study yogurt was fortified with ammonium ferrous sulphate, ferrous sulphate, iron-casein complex in three different concentrations (20mg, 30mg, 40 mg iron) /kg milk sample. Sensory evaluation and In-vitro bioavailability study of yogurt samples were analyzed at 1st, 4th, 7th day of storage. Statistical analysis of the study shows ferrous sulphate and iron-casein complex fortified yogurt enhances the iron absorption compared to ammonium ferrous  sulphate fortified yogurt.