Fermented dairy products are enjoying increased popularity as convenient, nutritious, stable, natural, and healthy foods. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are intimately associated with food, feed, and health. For this reason, they have become established as a major target for modern biotechnological research and development. The characteristic aroma, flavor, and texture of fermented dairy foods are often due to the growth of LAB. The LAB form a diverse group of microorganisms, such as the genera Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc, and Pediococcus, which are Gram-positive and catalase-, reductase-, oxidase-negative, as well as nonmotile and non-spore-forming. Current taxonomies of LAB and bifidobacteria are reviewed (Björkroth and Koort, 2011;Sonomoto and Yokota, 2011). Increasingly, Bifidobacterium is associated with this group and is added to the traditional yogurt cultures. Bifidobacterium was often classified to LAB, but is belongs to the high-G+C species, Gram-positive Actinobacteria (Actinomyces, Streptomyces, Arthrobacter, Micrococcus, Bifidobacterium). As an anaerobic bacterium, it ferments glucose via the fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase pathway and not via glycolysis. The typical fermentation end products are acetate and lactate. Low concentrations of O 2 and CO 2 can have a stimulatory effect on the growth of these Bifidobacterium strains. Based on the growth profiles under different O 2 concentrations, the Bifidobacterium species were classified into four classes: O 2 -hypersensitive, O 2 -sensitive, O 2 -tolerant, and microaerophilic. The primary factor responsible for aerobic growth inhibition is proposed to be the production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in the growth medium. A H 2 O 2 -forming NADH oxidase was purified from O 2 -sensitive Bifidobacterium bifidum and was identified as a b-type dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. The kinetic parameters suggested that the enzyme could be involved in H 2 O 2 production in highly aerated environments.Although these LAB have been well studied and have enjoyed longstanding use in the food industry, there are still rapid developments in the field, and new uses and properties Fundamentals of Food Biotechnology, Second Edition. Byong H. Lee.