With the development of China, children’s cheese has garnered increasing attention in the dairy industry, which has become a new growth point of China’s dairy industry. However, children’s cheeses currently available on the market are uneven, which cannot be fortified completely according to children’s nutritional needs. Their tastes are similar and their selling points are the same, which causes the public’s sensory fatigue and also go against consumers’ pursuit of clean label. Thus, the development of the children’s cheese industry is facing new challenges. In this paper, from the perspectives of children’s health and cheese nutrition, we link the needs of children of different ages for nutrition, flavor and texture with the nutrition, flavor and texture of cheese. The present situation, challenges and possible development directions of children’s cheese food in China are summarized.

A total of 15 food-grade Lactobacillus strains were evaluated for their antagonism against gastrointestinal pathogens using Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 as a control. The results showed that nine of the strains possessed excellent antibacterial properties against five indicator bacteria tested, and two of the remaining six strains were antagonistic against four of the indicator bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, E. coli and Bacillus cereus. According to their antagonistic effect, acid producing ability and milk curding ability, four strains were selected and each of them was combined with Streptococcus thermophilus ST-21 for use as bio-preservative starter cultures. Streptococcus thermophilus ST-21 + strain Z-38 at a ratio of 2:1 could produce acid rapidly, have potent post-acidification capacity and produce a strong milky aroma, being suitable for the production of flavored yogurt. Streptococcus thermophilus ST-21 + strain Z-40 at a ratio of 2:1 resulted in the best texture of yogurt, being suitable for the production of fermented dairy drink. Yogurt fermented by Streptococcus thermophilus ST-21 + strain Z-12 at a ratio of 1:1 showed the lowest consistency and cohesiveness.

This study describes the optimization of the formulation of cryoprotectants for Bifidobacterium lactis Z-1 using response surface methodology (RSM). Using the Plackett-Burman design, trehalose, sucrose, L-cysteine hydrochloride concentration were identified as factors with a significant influence on the viable count of lyophilized Bifidobacterium lactis Z-1. Subsequently, the optimal response ranges of the three factors were determined using the steepest ascent method. The levels of these factors were further optimized using RSM with Box-Benhnken design. As a result, a regression model was fitted into the experimental data. The optimal levels of trehalose, sucrose and L-cysteine hydrochloride were determined as 200.51, 46.16 and 2.31 g/L, respectively, while the other ingredients were the same as those in the traditional recipe (skimmed milk powder 100 g/L, whey protein powder 20 g/L, glycerol 4 g/L, sodium isoascorbate 10 g/L and sodium glutamate 8 g/L).

A total of 30 food-grade Lactobacillus strains isolated from naturally fermented products from Tibetan, Xinjiang and Qinghai regions including Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG (as a control) were evaluated for acid and bile salt tolerance, hydrophobicity, surface charge and auto-aggregation ability. Out of these, 16 strains were selected and further evaluated for tolerance to artificial gastric and intestinal fluids. The results showed that the survival rates of 4 of the 16 strains were greater than 14.44% after 60 min of incubation in artificial gastric fluid and were 3.91%–100.00% after 30 min. For all 16 selected strains, the survival rate was 31.73%–112.83% after 5 h, and Z-1 had the strongest tolerance to artificial gastric fluid of these strains with a 93.07% survival rate after 60 min. The survival rate of Z-1 was 106.5% after 5 h of incubation in artificial intestinal fluid, hydrophobicity 97.52%, surface charge 97.35% and 24.67% in the presence of chloroform and ethyl acetate, respectively, and auto-aggregation ability 11.26%.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are important components in human milk. Understanding the differences between non-HMOs and HMOs is fundamental to develop infant formula with improved nutritional functions making it more similar to human milk to satisfy the nutritional health of infants. This paper reviews the types and structural characteristics of HMOs and their roles in regulating the intestinal microflora, improving intestinal health and promoting immune system development. Meanwhile, the differences between the composition of oligosaccharides in mammalian milk and HMOs composition are described, as well as the characteristics and functions of oligosaccharides commonly used in infant formula. The problems associated with the application of oligosaccharides in infant formula are proposed and future prospects are discussed. We expect that this review will provide a theoretical guidance for the development of new infant formulas.

Goat milk is rich in a wide variety of nutrients and has prominent nutritional and functional properties. Because of its nutritional similarity to breast milk, goat milk is an emerging alternative milk source for infant formula to bovine milk. Nowadays, there is a worldwide interest in the safety and nutritional value of goat milk products. This article presents a discussion of the nutritional composition, safety and functional characteristics of goat milk, indicating that goat milk has great advantages for use as a milk source for infant formula. Goat milk is rich in a variety of nutrients including protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and contains active substances such as superoxide dismutase and epithelial cell growth factors, protecting against viruses and tuberculosis infection with good safety. Infant formula made from goat milk has a reduced allergenicity and increased digestibility, and can enhance fat absorption rate and lower cholesterol levels.

Nowadays, the Chinese dairy industry is developing fast. Dairy products have become an important part in people’s dietary structure. Functional dairy products are an emerging type of dairy products which exerts physiological effects through added probiotics and bioactive molecules. The present article presents an overview of China’s dairy products market and analyzes the classification, market and consumption conditions, current status and limitations of functional dairy products. Moreover, some suggestions regarding the development trends of functional dairy products in China are given based on the development of related products and technologies worldwide. This paper can provide useful references for the research and development of functional dairy products.

Lactoferrin is an important multifunctional protein that has a variety of biological activities, such as anti-bacterial, anti-tumor, anti-allergy, immunoregulatory and so on. The related basic research and application development of lactoferrin have attracted wide attention. Therefore, the detection methods for lactoferrin have drawn increasing attention. Especially the advantages, sensitivity, accuracy and stability of different methods vary to different extents, which directly affects their applicable scope. The present paper has described the detection methods which have been reported to be suitable for different types of biological samples, mainly including spectrophotometry, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), high affinity chromatography (HPAC), efficient capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The advantages and disadvantages of these different detection technologies also have been analyzed and compared. This review is expected to provide reference for selection of the suitable detection method for lactoferrin in research and development practices.

The solubility of milk protein concentrate (MPC), which has a direct impact on its application value, may be reduced during storage. The effect of ultrasonic treatment with different powers for different durations on the solubility of fresh and stored MPC was studied. The results showed when stored MPC85, a commercial product, was treated with ultrasonic (at 50, 300 or 600 W for 5 min, or at 300 W for 3, 5 or 10 min), its solubility decreased sharply. As for fresh MPC70 stored for 30 d after treated with ultrasonic (at 300 or 600 W for 3, 5 and 10 min, respectively), its solubility decreased slowly and the smallest decrease was observed upon ultrasonic treatment for 300 W, 10 min. Ultrasonic treatment is useful to retard the decrease in the solubility during storage of MPC.

In the present study, a preliminary purification was carried out to obtain heat-resistant lipase secreted by Pseudomonas fluorescens separated from fresh milk. Moreover, the effects of temperature, pH, and Ca2+ concentration on the activity of this lipase were determined. Results showed that the lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens had a molecular weight 55 kD and a purity of 91.5% after the purification, and its relative activity was 75.02%, 86.21%, 73.25%, 17.62% and 13.63% after heat treatment at 50 ℃ for 30 min, 63 ℃ for 30 min, 72 ℃ for 20 s, 90 ℃ for 10 min, and 121℃, 0.1 MPa for 20 min, respectively. The optimum reaction pH and temperature for this enzyme were 8.0 and 63 ℃, respectively. The lipase activity was not significantly affected by Ca2+ concentration.