Whey and buttermilk are the main by-products of the dairy industry, both having excellent nutritional properties. Buttermilk contains a unique component, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). MFGM contains bioactive compounds with positive health effects like antitumour or cholesterol-lowering impact. Whey proteins are found in whey and are a source of bioactive peptides acting positively on coronary, gastrointestinal, immune and nervous systems. Yet, buttermilk and whey are insufficiently utilized in functional food production. Various technological solutions have been studied in order to increase the production of foods based on whey and/or buttermilk whereby the production of beverages appear to be most acceptable from the economic and technological point of view. Thus, the aim of this paper is to give an overview of current knowledge about the possibilities of creating whey and/or buttermilk beverages.

Packaging of dairy products develops continuously along with advances in material technologies, which are in turn a response to demands of consumers. This article aimed to give an overview of currently available dairy packaging systems. Novel dairy packaging systems include new packaging technologies such as the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) that is widely used nowadays, especially for dairy product like cheese. Application of edible packaging could significantly reduce the costs of cheese packaging by reducing the amount of usually required packaging material. Nanomaterials and active packaging might be useful for extending the shelf life of dairy products by reducing material permeability or negative sensory characteristics of batch processing. Forms of active packaging relevant to dairy foods include oxygen scavenging, carbon dioxide absorbers, moisture and/or flavour/odour taints absorbers; releasing compounds (carbon dioxide, ethanol, antioxidants and/or other preservatives); maintaining temperature control and/or compensating temperature changes and antimicrobial packaging. Antimicrobial packaging is gaining interest from packaging scientists and industry due to its potential for providing quality and their safety benefits. The greatest challenge from the ecological point of view is biodegradable packaging. The main challenges for low waste materials are the durability of the packaging correlated with product shelf life as well as the ecological perspective.

Background: Fermented dairy products are known for their many positive effects on human health and are consumed worldwide. The supplementation of food with plant extracts as sources of valuable nutritional compounds has recently gained a lot of attention. Milk and fermented products are deficient in bioactive components such as phenolic compounds and iron. Moringa oleifera leaf extract is rich in vitamins, minerals (iron), polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins and proteins. Its addition to milk before fermentation might represent an excellent way to enrich fermented milk products. Methods: Yoghurts enriched with moringa extract (ME) (1, 3 and 4-%, v/v) were produced and compared to a control yoghurt without ME. In all samples, acidity, microbiological parameters, syneresis and water holding capacity, rheology parameters, total colour difference, mineral content, total phenols and antioxidant capacity (FRAP method) and sensory properties were determined. Results: The addition of ME to milk before fermentation resulted in a shorter fermentation time, lower yoghurt pH, increased growth of yoghurt bacteria, better rheological properties and an increased total phenols content as well as antioxidant capacity of yoghurts. Moreover, yoghurts with ME addition had a higher mineral content and gained a better sensory score when compared to the control sample.

Along with the constant increase in the cheese milk production, the world whey production is increasing constantly too (>2 % per year). The excellent nutritional properties attributed to whey are mainly conditioned by the presence of highly valuable proteins with wide range of biological and functional properties. The main whey proteins are β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) and α-lactalbumin (α-La) which are extensively used in functional foods and beverages, infant formulas, sport diets, but are a very good source of bioactive peptides too. Along with casein, β-Lg is most commonly made responsible for causing food allergies, especially in infants whose digestion system isn’t completely developed. Hence, there is a great interest for removing β-Lg prior to whey utilization in certain products. At the same time α-La was recognized as the nutritionally most valuable protein and might be regarded as an ideal ingredient for infant formulas. Thus, the aim of the present paper was to give an overview of the currently available methods for α-La isolation, and to highlight their advantages and disadvantages as well. Also, this paper reviews the most recent insights related to the structure and physiological significance of α-La.

The present study examines the resistance of the α-lactalbumin to α-chymotrypsin (EC 3.4.21.1) digestion under various experimental conditions. Whey protein isolate (WPI) was hydrolysed using randomised hydrolysis conditions (5 and 10% of WPI; pH 7·0, 7·8 and 8·5; temperature 25, 37 and 50 °C; enzyme-to-substrate ratio, E/S, of 0·1%, 0·5 and 1%). Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to analyse residual proteins. Heat, pH adjustment and two inhibitors (Bowman–Birk inhibitor and trypsin inhibitor from chicken egg white) were used to stop the enzyme reaction. While operating outside of the enzyme optimum it was observed that at pH 8·5 selective hydrolysis of β-lactoglobulin was improved because of a dimer-to-monomer transition while α-la remained relatively resistant. The best conditions for the recovery of native and pure α-la were at 25 °C, pH 8·5, 1% E/S ratio, 5% WPI (w/v) while the enzyme was inhibited using Bowman–Birk inhibitor with around 81% of original α-la in WPI was recovered with no more β-lg. Operating conditions for hydrolysis away from the chymotrypsin optimum conditions offers a great potential for selective WPI hydrolysis, and removal, of β-lg with production of whey protein concentrates containing low or no β-lg and pure native α-la. This method also offers the possibility for production of β-lg-depleted milk products for sensitive populations.

Background: Yoghurt has been traditionally consumed for its high nutritional value and health-promoting benefits. The addition of plant extracts as a source of phenolic compounds and bio-flavonoids has attracted much attention recently since milk and dairy products are deficient in these health-protecting components. Accordingly, olive leaf extract (OLE) has been considered due to the presence of bioactive compounds, primarily polyphenols. Thus, the aim of this research was to investigate the possibility of adding OLE into cow milk yoghurt as a potential functional ingredient. Methods: Yoghurts enriched with OLE (1.5, 3, and 5% v/v) were produced and compared with yoghurt without OLE. In all samples acidity, viscosity, colour, syneresis, water holding capacity (WHC), microbiological parameters, sensory properties, total phenols, and antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP methods) were determined. Results: The addition of OLE resulted in shorter fermentation and lower pH, but it had no adverse effect on the viability of yoghurt starter bacteria. OLE-enriched yoghurts showed increased syneresis, higher total phenols content, and antioxidant activity, while WHC and viscosity decreased. Sensory properties were slightly poorer for yoghurts containing higher OLE concentrations. Considering all of the obtained results, the addition of 1.5% OLE appeared to be optimal.