The meat and milk products from domesticated ruminants are important foods within a balanced diet, offering a rich source of energy, protein, fats, minerals, and vitamins. The sensorial properties of meat and milk are mainly linked to their fat content and fatty acid composition, which are influenced by the feeding background or nutrient composition of diets. While several studies have investigated the nutritional effects on the fat content and fatty acid profile of ruminant meat and milk, as well as their relationship with sensorial properties, a comprehensive overview of these effects is lacking. This paper summarises current literature and discusses changes to fatty acid composition (including ω-3 concentrations), fattiness, and associated quality traits of sheep, goat, beef cattle, alpaca, and llama meat that can be achieved by using different forages or feeds in a total mixed ration. Additionally, it presents the shelf life and nutritional value of meat, milk, and cheeses from the milk of dairy cattle, buffalo, goats, and sheep as influenced by a ruminant diet. Further advancement in these areas will promote the sustainability of ruminant production and its associated feeding systems in achieving premium quality animal-derived foods.

Maintaining the overall quality and shelf life of plant-based food and beverages is particularly important yet challenging to the food industry. Demand for natural preservation techniques has increased with the rising concerns over food safety and consumer awareness, e.g., health consciousness and food trends such as veganism and the demand for clean, labelled foods. Thus, a technique such as biopreservation has the potential to enhance food safety while fostering the quality, originality and naturalness of food. The application of probiotic microorganisms to foods and beverages provides various health benefits in addition to improved shelf life, stability and microbial safety of the food. The provision of probiotics is known to deliver various health benefits for the host’s gut health. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the importance of biopreservation and the role of probiotics in the food industry. An attempt was made to explore the various possibilities of shelf-life enhancement through the use of probiotic microorganisms as biopreservatives. Noticeable improvements in the shelf life of plant-based foods and beverages were observed due to the antimicrobial effects exerted by probiotics and potential probiotic strains which make them useful alternatives to artificially synthesized chemical preservatives.

• Four types of plant-derived pigments were assessed in stirred yogurt production. • Yogurts were stable without sedimentation or noticeable decolouration. • Plant pigment addition did not exert adverse effect on the survival of probiotics. • Turmeric addition resulted in the highest sensory acceptance, b* value and total phenolic content. • The use of plant pigments in stirred yogurt production is technologically feasible.

Buffalo-milk-based dairy products provide various health benefits to humans since buffalo milk serves as a rich source of protein, fat, lactose, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin A and natural antioxidants. Dairy products such as Meekiri, Dadih, Dadi and Lassie, which are derived from Artisanal fermentation of buffalo milk, have been consumed for many years. Probiotic potentials of indigenous microflora in fermented buffalo milk have been well documented. Incorporation of certain probiotics into the buffalo-milk-based dairy products conferred vital health benefits to the consumers, although is not a common practice. However, several challenges are associated with incorporating probiotics into buffalo-milk-based dairy products. The viability of probiotic bacteria can be reduced due to processing and environmental stress during storage. Further, incompatibility of probiotics with traditional starter cultures and high acidity of fermented dairy products may lead to poor viability of probiotics. The weak acidifying performance of probiotics may affect the organoleptic quality of fermented dairy products. Besides these challenges, several innovative technologies such as the use of microencapsulated probiotics, ultrasonication, the inclusion of prebiotics, use of appropriate packaging and optimal storage conditions have been reported, promising stability and viability of probiotics in buffalo-milk-based fermented dairy products.

Traditional fermented buffalo milk gel; Meekiri, is a popular buffalo milk-derived product in Sri Lanka. Predominantly, it is produced using the back-slopping (adding a small amount of the previous fermentate) technique, following the life-long traditions available at the cottage level. Hence, diverse and unclassified starter cultures are likely to be established across the varying geographical regions of Meekiri production. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the diversity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and their characteristics including probiotic properties from major Meekeri production areas (n = 22) in Sri Lanka. Lactic acid bacteria was isolated from locally produced Meekiri samples (n = 23) and characterized based on morphological, biochemical, physiological profiles and potential of probiotic properties. The isolates revealed five different colony and cell morphologies and were classified as heterofermenters, homofermenters and facultative heterofermenters based on CO₂ production using glucose. None of the isolates showed the ability to grow either at 5 °C or 0 °C, while 71 % and 100 % survival of the isolates were observed at 15 °C and 45 °C, respectively. Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) primarily grouped the isolates into three distinct clusters based on their DNA banding patterns. Subsequently, 16S rRNA sequencing of isolates revealed the presence of four species namely, Limosilactobacillus fermentum (n = 18), Latilactobacillus curvatus (n = 2), Lactobacillus acidophilus (n = 2) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (n = 1) and in the phylogenetic analysis, it was represented by four distinctive clades. All the isolated species demonstrated promising probiotic potential with antibiotic sensitivity, antimicrobial properties, bile acid tolerance and acid tolerance. In conclusion, traditional back-slopping Meekiri in Sri Lanka contains diverse LAB, with a negligible geographical variation at species-level. Our work provides a strong foundation and insights into future applications in starter culture development for the fermentation of buffalo's milk.