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Microorganisms
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Dairy Food and Microorganisms: The Role of Microorganisms in Improving...
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Dairy Food and Microorganisms: The Role of Microorganisms in Improving the Safety, Quality and Nutritional Value of Dairy Foods

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2025) | Viewed by 4507

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kristina Kondrotiene

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Safety and Quality, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: dairy products; probiotics; lactic acid bacteria; Lactococcus lactis; bacteriocins; food microbiology; nisin
Dr. Mindaugas Malakauskas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Veterinary Academy, Department of Food Safety and Quality, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės Str. 18, LT-47181 Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: microbiological safety of dairy products, WGS, AMR, lactic acid bacteria; foodborne pathogens
Dr. Loreta Šernienė

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Safety and Quality, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
Interests: innovative dairy products; whey valorisation; probiotic; protective lactic acid bacteria.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, not only do consumers want to experiment with different flavors and ingredients in dairy products, but due to the rising number of life-threatening chronic illnesses in some countries, they are also more careful about their food selections. Moreover, consumers are more focused on healthy nutrition. As a result, the consumption of dairy foods with functional properties is increasing.

This Special Issue welcomes papers on the following topics, among others:

  • Bioactive compounds produced by advantageous bacteria, e.g., lactic acid bacteria, which exert advantageous effects on dairy food quality and safety, as well as human health.
  • Edible coatings as carriers for protective bacteria in dairy food applications.
  • Immobilization and encapsulation technologies for advantageous bacteria in dairy food applications.
  • Safety concerns and problem solving regarding dairy food production and shelf life.
  • Probiotic microorganisms in dairy food production.

Dr. Kristina Kondrotiene
Dr. Mindaugas Malakauskas
Dr. Loreta Šernienė
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • dairy foods
  • whey valorization
  • probiotic microorganisms
  • edible coatings
  • bioactive compounds
  • lactic acid bacteria
  • immobilization
  • encapsulation
  • safety

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1601 KB  
Article
Isolation and Characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria from an Italian Traditional Raw Milk Cheese: Probiotic Properties and Technological Performance of Selected Strains
by Marianna Roselli, Federica Colafranceschi, Valentina Cipriani, Alessandra Valle, Paola Zinno, Barbara Guantario, Emily Schifano, Daniela Uccelletti and Chiara Devirgiliis
Microorganisms 2025, 13(6), 1368; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13061368 - 12 Jun 2025
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Abstract
The increasing interest in fermented foods stems from their health benefits, mediated by foodborne microorganisms. This study aimed to characterize the fermentative microbiota of Pecorino di Picinisco, a traditional Italian cheese made from ovine raw milk, and to evaluate the probiotic and technological [...] Read more.
The increasing interest in fermented foods stems from their health benefits, mediated by foodborne microorganisms. This study aimed to characterize the fermentative microbiota of Pecorino di Picinisco, a traditional Italian cheese made from ovine raw milk, and to evaluate the probiotic and technological potential of selected lactic acid bacteria strains. Three strains representative of the different species found (Lactococcus lactis, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Latilactobacillus curvatus) were chosen and analyzed. All three strains were able to adhere to human intestinal Caco-2 cells, were resistant to simulated in vitro digestion and significantly prolonged the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, used as a simplified in vivo model, with respect to the commercial probiotic strain Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG. The L. plantarum Pic37.4 strain was particularly promising; therefore, its cell-free supernatant was employed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity against indicator strains of foodborne and intestinal pathogens or spoilage bacteria. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the supernatant against all strains tested, with the strongest effect on the intestinal pathogen enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88. In addition, the inhibitory effect on pathogen adhesion to intestinal mucosa was investigated on Caco-2 cells, resulting in a significant reduction in adhesion mediated by the L. plantarum Pic37.4 supernatant. The antimicrobial properties of the L. plantarum strain were confirmed in vivo in C. elegans. These promising results lay the ground for further investigations aimed at substantiating the probiotic and technological potential of the L. plantarum Pic37.4 investigated in this work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dairy Food and Microorganisms: The Role of Microorganisms in Improving the Safety, Quality and Nutritional Value of Dairy Foods)
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21 pages, 2614 KB  
Article
Physicochemical, Sensory, and Microbiological Analysis of Fermented Drinks Made from White Kidney Bean Extract and Cow’s Milk Blends during Refrigerated Storage
by Ibaratkan Kurbanova, Lina Lauciene, Kristina Kondrotiene, Gintare Zakariene, Vitalijs Radenkovs, Sandra Kiselioviene, Alvija Salaseviciene, Agne Vasiliauskaite, Mindaugas Malakauskas, Mukarama Musulmanova and Loreta Serniene
Microorganisms 2024, 12(9), 1832; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12091832 - 4 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2381
Abstract
Due to its low dietary impact and bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, white kidney bean extract is an attractive raw material for fermented drinks. It can be utilized either on its own or blended with cow’s milk, offering a promising solution [...] Read more.
Due to its low dietary impact and bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and flavonoids, white kidney bean extract is an attractive raw material for fermented drinks. It can be utilized either on its own or blended with cow’s milk, offering a promising solution to help meet dairy product demand during mid-season shortages. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the physicochemical characteristics, sensory properties, and microbiological profile of fermented milk-like drinks made from white kidney bean extract, cow’s milk and their blends during 28 days of storage at 4 °C. Three blends of fermented milk-like drinks (FMLDs) were prepared from different ratios of cow’s milk (CM) and kidney bean extract (BE): FMLD1 (CM 30%:BE 70%); FMLD2 (CM 50%:BE 50%), FMLD3 (CM 70%:BE 30%), along with plain fermented kidney been extract (FBE; CM 0%:BE 100%), and plain fermented cow’s milk (FCM; CM 100%:BE 0%). The mixtures were pasteurized at 92 °C for 25 min and fermented with a probiotic-type starter culture (S. thermophilus, B. bifidum, L. acidophilus) at 43 °C. FBE exhibited the lowest levels of carbohydrates (2.14%), fat (0.11%), and protein (1.45%) compared to fermented cow’s milk and blends. The FBE and the fermented blends with a higher ratio of bean extract had lower viscosity and lactic acid contents, greener hue, more pronounced aftertaste and off-flavors, and received lower overall acceptability scores. Although the FCM had higher counts of S. thermophilus and L. acidophilus, the FBE displayed significantly higher counts of B. bifidum. This study demonstrated the potential of using white kidney bean extract and its blends with cow’s milk to create unique fermented products with a lower dietary impact, highlighting the importance of further optimizing the formulations to enhance sensory qualities and reduce the beany off-flavors in the products with added kidney bean extract. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dairy Food and Microorganisms: The Role of Microorganisms in Improving the Safety, Quality and Nutritional Value of Dairy Foods)
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