Starter is useful for producing fermented foods due to its ability to enhance flavor and taste and reproduce products of consistently high quality Although lactic‐ acid‐bacteria‐based starters are primarily used for the production of fermented dairy products like yogurt and cheese, potential exists for these starters to be a valuable ingredient in products such as soybean paste and in the development of new products. In this experiment, Lactobacillus plantarum, which was used for gelatinizing chum salmon surimi and minced scallops as mentioned in previous studies, was dried on a fluidized bed. Viability of lactic acid bacteria after dehydration was highest (96.8%) when Skim milk was used as the starter core and a 30% sucrose solution was used as a protective reagent to prevent dehydration.