Fermented dairy products are important foods in a balanced western diet and are being consumed from ancient times. Acidification as a result of milk fermentation is mainly due to the activity of lactic acid bacteria, although yeast and moulds can be also involved. Adjunct microbial cultures do not participate directly in the acidification process but efficiently confer special sensory properties to fermented dairy products. Many beneficial effects that attributed to fermented dairy products, beyond those purely nutritional, are related to the microorganisms present in the food, as is the case of probiotics. In spite of the relative safety of fermented dairy products, they are sometimes involved in health disorders caused by dairy-borne pathogens and opportunists or by the action of harmful compounds released by the metabolic activity of lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and moulds into the food matrix. Interestingly, although the effects on human health can be opposite, the mechanisms of interaction with the host by harmful and beneficial microorganisms may be closer than one might assume.

We invite authors to submit original research and review articles that contribute to elucidate the beneficial or detrimental role on human health of microorganisms linked to fermented dairy products and the advances in strategies aimed at enhancing beneficial effects or counteracting the deleterious actions of such microorganisms. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Interaction mechanisms between dairy-borne microorganisms, or compounds released by them, with the host: human intestinal microbiota, immune system, eukaryotic cells, and human physiology
• Interactions between dairy-borne beneficial and harmful microorganisms within the food matrix as well as in the gastrointestinal tract
• Identifying food-grade strategies to maximize the beneficial action or to minimize the adverse effect of microorganisms in human health
• Characterization of new dairy-borne microorganisms or the compounds released/produced by them from the point of view of human health

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/bmri/microbiology/dairy/ according to the following timetable: