Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing trend in the consumption of functional foods. Functional foods are those that when consumed regularly produce a specific beneficial health effect beyond their basic nutritional properties. In this book, the authors focus on providing an overview of the current knowledge on technical approaches for the manufacturing of fermented dairy foods, as well as aspects concerning nutrition and health; the effects of supplementation of yogurt with appropriate plant materials for developing novel functional yogurt with antioxidant properties; the role of probiotics applications in fermented foods and the application of probiotic bacteria in foods for promoting health benefits; and finally, the monitoring of microbial volatile organic compounds in traditional fermented foods as well as the strategies of preservation and innovation paths in the field of traditional fermented foods.