en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:1;"><b>Background:</b> This study was conducted to produce probiotic cheese containing barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>) bran, optimizing its physicochemical, rheological, and sensory characteristics while maximizing the viability of <i>Lactobacillus acidophilus</i> over a nine-day storage period at 4 &deg;C.<br> <b>Methods</b>: Using the Response Surface Method (RSM), 13 treatment combinations were designed, including barely bran concentrations ranging from 0% to 4% and storage durations extending up to 42 days. Two types of cheese were evaluated: probiotic cheese and probiotic cheese containing barley bran. Comprehensive assessments included microbial viability, physicochemical variables (such as pH and acidity), rheological properties, and sensory evaluation.<br> <b>Results:</b> The highest viability of probiotics, recorded at 8.7 log CFU/g, was observed in the probiotic low-fat cheese on day 1 with a barley bran concentration of 4%. The physicochemical analysis indicated suitable pH and acidity levels. Rheological characteristics, such as viscosity and hardness, were enhanced in barley bran samples, whereas adhesiveness showed no significant change. The color index (L*) decreased in the samples with added barley bran.<br> <b><span lang="EN">Conclusion:</span></b><span lang="EN"> Incorporating 2.37% barley bran into the cheese formulation resulted in a product with optimal physicochemical, rheological, and sensory properties. In addition, the population of <i>L. acidophilus</i> bacteria increased to 8.21</span> log CFU/g<span lang="EN">, and these characteristics were maintained for approximately nine days during refrigerated storage (4 &deg;C)</span><span style="color:black">.</span></span></span></span></div> Cheese, Probiotic, Barely bran, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Response surface method, 45 53 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-661-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Reza Shadan shadan4000@yahoo.com 100319475328460015689 100319475328460015689 No Clinical Immunology Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (ZAUMS), Zahedan, Iran. Malihe Mousavi mousavi.malihe@sbmu.ac.ir 100319475328460015690 100319475328460015690 Yes Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. Maryam Beigomi beigomimaryam@gmail.com 100319475328460015691 100319475328460015691 No Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. Ali Heshmati a.heshmati@umsha.ac.ir 100319475328460015692 100319475328460015692 No Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Medicine, Nutrition Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. Zahra Poureshagh payam4766@gmail.com 100319475328460015693 100319475328460015693 No Department of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran. Adel Mirza Alizadeh a.alizadeh@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460015694 100319475328460015694 No Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Fahimeh Khoushabi fyasiny@yahoo.com 100319475328460015695 100319475328460015695 No Department of Nutrition, School of Health, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran. Anahita Shadan anashad7979@yahoo.com 100319475328460015696 100319475328460015696 No Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.