Production of concentrated Bifidobacterium bifidum

A low‐cost medium was developed to produce expensive dairy starter cultures easily and economically. Concentrated suspensions of Bifidobacterium bifidum were obtained in a continuous process using a continuous stirred tank reactor coupled to an ultrafiltration device in non‐anaerobic conditions. Bacterial productivity of 2 × 108 organisms cm−3 h−1 were achieved using a whey‐based medium, a 15‐fold improvement on batch productivity. The starter culture suspensions could be stored at 4°C or frozen without washing, or with the addition of cryoprotective media, with maintenance of high viability.