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Probiotic ice cream was produced by incorporating Lactobacillus acidophilus LMGP-21381 in a standard ice cream mix at initial population above 10 cfu/g. The ice cream mix was inoculated with either freeze-dried or activated cultures of L. acidophilus and a control treatment without probiotic was also prepared. The product was assessed for the survival of the probiotic strain during the freezing process and during 45 weeks of storage at −15°C and −25°C, and also for its sensory characteristics. The results showed that the freezing process caused a significant decrease in the viability of the freeze-dried culture, but no significant change in the viable counts of L. acidophilus was observed during frozen storage. The sensory attributes of aroma, taste and texture obtained high scores in the sensory evaluation. It was demonstrated that incorporation of either activated or commercial freeze-dried L. acidophilus culture resulted in a candidate food for the delivery of high levels of this probiotic strain to consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]