Constituents of nutritional relevance in fermented milk products commercialised in Italy

Fermented milk products represent an increasing share of the dairy products consumed in Italy. The nutritional value of these products is related to t he milk utilised and to the eventual presence of other ingredients (milk po wder, sugar, fruit puree and fruit extracts), whereas the microrganisms use d can affect texture and organoleptic characteristics. In this paper consti tuents of nutritional relevance such as protein, fat, total carbohydrate, a mino acids, minerals, vitamin A, vitamin E and cholesterol, have been evalu ated in yoghurts, fermented milks (plain and with essences) and Quark chees es (plain and with fruits). This study confirms the high nutritional qualit y of fermented milks and stresses the role of non-milk ingredients in modif ying and, sometimes, improving the dietary contribution of these products. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.