Dairy Research Bulletin: Selected Articles from February 2026

Each month CDRF Chief Science Officer, Dr. Kevin Comerford, reviews emerging scientific articles that may have an impact on our industry, specifically from a California perspective. This month’s dairy research highlights a common theme across the scientific literature: advancing sustainability, resilience, and human health while maintaining productivity across modern dairy systems. From environmental pathways in agricultural ecosystems to innovations in herd management and emerging insights into dairy’s role in human nutrition, the latest studies provide valuable context for decision-making across the dairy value chain.

Environmental Management and Sustainability

The Environmental Pathways and Veterinary Health Implications of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Emerging Contaminants from a One Health Perspective. Rahim MF, Gong S, Li K, Li J, et al. Vet Sci. 2026 Feb 20;13(2):202.

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are now common in land and water ecosystems. Their spread is an increasing issue from a One Health perspective. These particles end up in soils, water, air, and farm inputs. This poses direct risks to animal health and indirect risks to people who eat animal-derived food. There are also risks from plastic additives and pesticides migrating with these particles in animal-based food.
Experimental models link MPs/NPs to oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic disturbance, and potential reproductive toxicity in livestock and poultry.
This review summarizes how MPs and NPs move in agroecosystems and livestock production. It covers their main sources, such as agricultural plastics, sludge-amended soils, plastic-lined storage, and environmental fallout. It explains how farm animals are exposed, including through feed, water, soil contact, and inhalation. Evidence is condensed for occurrence in manure, tissues, and animal products.
Field surveys show very different contamination levels in the environment. Agricultural soils range from 0.36 to 42,960 particles/kg. Livestock indicators, like contaminated feed and manure, range from 10²to 10⁵ particles/kg. In free-roaming systems, chicken feces have very high loads, showing trophic transfer in land food chains. A pilot study found plastic particles in pig and cow blood, suggesting some particles cross the gut into the blood.
In conclusion, animal-based foods provide a major source of human exposure. MPs and NPs have been observed in milk and poultry products, such as packaged meat and eggs (mean 11.67 ± 3.98 particles/egg). There is still a research gap on raw milk taken directly from the teat and on raw eggs that have not been handled or packaged. This gap makes it hard to identify real contamination sources and control strategies.

Zinc-Driven Antibiotic Resistance Gene Dynamics During Vermicomposting: Insights into Co-Contamination Mitigation for Sustainable Manure Management. Wang N, Zheng S, Zeng Y, Yang F. Antibiotics (Basel). 2026 Feb 9;15(2):188.

The coexistence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and heavy metals in livestock manure poses critical challenges to vermicomposting technology.
This study aimed to clarify the zinc (Zn)-driven ARG dynamics over 60-day vermicomposting for livestock manure and provide a reference for taking appropriate measures to reduce the spread of ARGs in the environment.
In a vermicomposting system using Eisenia fetidaand treated with varying concentrations of Zn, high-throughput sequencing was employed to analyze microbial succession, while quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was performed to track the fluctuation patterns of ARG (tet-, erm-, qnr-, str-, chl-, bla-, mcr-ARGs) and mobile genetic element (MGE, intI1 and intI2) abundances over the 60-day treatment period.
Generally, sul– (10^-3-10^-1copies/16S rRNA), tet– (10^-3-10^-2 copies/16S rRNA), and str-ARGs (10^-3-10^-2 copies/16S rRNA) are dominant in dairy manure. Vermicomposting significantly reduced total ARGs (88.62% removal), but Zn stress triggered concentration-dependent shifts.
Low Zn (100-250 mg/kg) elevated tet-, erm-, and chl-ARGs via co-selective pressure and disrupted bacterial succession, while high Zn (500-1000 mg/kg) suppressed qnr– and mcr-ARGs but intensified horizontal transfer via cross-resistance.
In conclusion, vermicomposting maintained a greater ARG removal capacity across the Zn gradient (100-1000 mg/kg) than natural composting, proving an effective approach for reducing the threat of antibiotic resistance in bacteria even under high Zn stress. The link between Zn residues and the increased ARG dissemination risks underscores the challenge of co-contaminants, providing essential insights for developing vermicomposting strategies to mitigate ARG risks and ensure sustainable manure management.

Temporal signals in dairy cattle slurry and fertilized field soil resistomes and bacterial communities. Williams AD, Hooton SPT, West HM, et al. Front Microbiol. 2026;16:1666851.

Dairy cattle waste is a globally significant source of organic fertilizer which contains a cocktail of microbes and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). These ARGs may present a risk to human and animal health, yet there is still limited farm-system-level understanding of how long-term and multiple slurry applications alter field soil resistomes and total microbial communities.
Using metagenomics, researchers assessed both immediate and longer-term changes in grassland field soil resistomes and bacterial communities over a year of routine cattle slurry application.
These findings suggest that soil microbial communities are resilient to bacteria and ARGs introduced via slurry, even after repeated applications. Most slurry-borne ARGs were not enriched in field soil, however, those common in soil, such as rifamycin resistance genes, were consistently elevated relative to field soil with no history of slurry application.
The researchers observed transient increases in slurry-associated macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin ARGs, however, their persistence appeared to be influenced by timing of slurry application. Similar transient effects were shown by the recovery of a high quality, slurry-associated Proteiniphilum metagenome assembled genome (MAG).
This study shows that MAGs represent a powerful tool for examining the transfer of slurry-borne microorganisms, as they can be more characteristic of these environments than typical sentinel organisms which are easily cultivated.
These findings indicate that while the soil bacterial community shows considerable resilience to slurry-borne bacteria and ARGs, this may be diminished by temporal factors that remain largely unexplored and poorly understood. This is important because resilience inferred from short-term observations may not fully capture delayed or transient responses, potentially leading to underestimation of the persistence of slurry-borne bacteria and ARGs.

Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from duckweed cultivation systems using diluted liquid manure. Stadtlander T, Gomez DM, Agostini L, et al. Sci Rep. 2026 Feb 19.

Protein from duckweed (Araceae, subfamily Lemnoideae) grown on diluted animal slurries for nutrient upcycling could potentially replace plant-derived feed proteins which would be more efficiently used as human food. However, little information is available on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from slurry-grown duckweed, and previous studies have not reported methane emissions from a similar system.
Here, researchers report on GHG (methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) and ammonia emissions from duckweed grown on diluted cattle slurry measured in daylight and darkness, compared with emissions from diluted slurry without duckweed.
The researchers observed (i) initially high but rapidly declining methane emissions, independent of lighting or treatment, (ii) a net carbon dioxide fixation by duckweed, independent of lighting, (iii) high nitrous oxide emissions, independent of lighting, and (iv) a > 80% reduction of ammonia emissions by duckweed, independent of lighting.
This data shows potential of duckweed protein as a sustainable protein with 3.54 to 6.54 CO₂eq kg^{– 1}protein, compared to faba bean (3.61 kg CO₂eq kg^{– 1} protein) or barley protein (5.35 CO₂eq kg^{– 1} protein). But despite the potential of slurry-grown duckweed as sustainable protein source, swapping ammonia volatilization for nitrous oxide emissions represents a limitation of the current system and mitigation strategies are needed.

Effect of water-retaining agent on nitrogen conversion in cattle manure composting process. Xu S, Zhang A, Li G, et al. J Environ Sci Health B. 2026;61(2):59-71.

The effect of water-retaining agents on nitrogen transformation during manure composting remains unclear.
To mitigate the environmental pollution caused by ammonia volatilization during livestock manure composting, this study investigated the effects of different dosages of water-retaining agent (CK: 0 g/m³; T1: 100 g/m³; T2: 200 g/m³; T3: 300 g/m³; T4: 400 g/m³; T5: 500 g/m³) on nitrogen transformation and ammonia emissions in cattle manure windrow composting.
The results showed that the water-retaining agent exhibited a significant dosage-dependent effect: appropriate dosages (T1-T3) could retain water, stabilize the microenvironment for nitrifying bacteria, promote the conversion of ammonium nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen, and reduce ammonia volatilization.
Among these treatments, the T3 treatment achieved the optimal effect; compared with CK, the final moisture content increased by 16.97%, the nitrate nitrogen content increased by 22.03%, the ammonia volatilization decreased by 15.06%, and the total nitrogen loss rate decreased by 10.32%.
In contrast, excessive dosages (T4-T5) prolonged the thermophilic phase of composting, inhibited the activity of nitrifying bacteria, leading to increased ammonia volatilization (12.61% and 38.72% higher than CK, respectively) and intensified total nitrogen loss.
This study clarified the water-retention and nitrogen-fixation mechanism of the water-retaining agent, identified its optimal dosage, and provided a theoretical basis and technical support for the clean composting of livestock manure and efficient nitrogen retention.

Comparative life cycle assessment of conventional dairy products and plant-based analog and hybrid alternatives: current status and future perspectives. Fidan M, Şanlı T. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2026 Feb 23:1-20

Conventional dairy products are associated with relatively high environmental burdens, largely driven by farm-level processes such as enteric methane emissions, feed production, and land use. These concerns have intensified interest in plant-based analog and hybrid dairy products as potential alternatives.
However, environmental comparisons among these product categories remain inconsistent due to differences in functional units, methodological choices, and nutritional characteristics.
This review synthesizes ISO 14040/14044 compliant Life Cycle Assessment studies to compare the environmental performance of conventional dairy products, plant-based analogs, and hybrid alternatives, focusing on key methodological drivers such as system boundaries, allocation methods, functional unit selection including nutrient-based units (nFU) and geographical data variability.
Across the literature, plant-based analogs generally exhibit lower environmental impacts when assessed using mass- or volume-based functional units. However, this advantage diminishes markedly when nutritional value, protein quality, and bioavailability are considered, with some analog products approaching or even exceeding the impacts of conventional dairy.
Hybrid products typically display intermediate environmental profiles, with impacts increasing in proportion to animal-derived fractions. Future research should integrate nutritional dimensions, consumption and waste stages, and representative data to support robust, policy-relevant sustainability assessments within sustainable diet frameworks.

Animal Health and Food Safety

Heat stress increases enteric methane emissions yield and intensity while impairing rumen function and productivity in lactating dairy cattle. Onan-Martinez D, de Bari MAT, Tricarico JM, Dahl GE.J Dairy Sci. 2026 Feb 14:S0022-0302(26)00121-9.

Emissions by livestock contribute to global warming through greenhouse gases including enteric methane (CH₄). Heat stress reduces dairy cattle productivity, but its impact on CH₄emissions is unclear.
For this study, researchers tested the hypothesis that heat stress increases CH₄intensity in lactating cows.
Forty lactating multiparous Holstein cows (mean ± SD; ∼173 ± 23 DIM, 703 ± 66 kg of BW, and 46.2 ±6 kg of milk yield) were stratified by lactation number, DIM, and PTA for milk production and then randomly assigned to 2 treatments in a 4-week crossover design.
Twenty cows received treatment sequence of heat stress abatement via evaporative cooling (shade, fans, and soakers: CL) for 4 weeks followed by no cooling (shade only) for another 4 weeks, whereas 20 were assigned to a treatment sequence that included 4 weeks of no cooling followed by 4 weeks of evaporative cooling, all cows had a 2-week washout period before switching to the opposite treatment.
All cows were housed in a freestall barn with Calan gates for daily DMI monitoring and were milked 3 times daily. Enteric gas emissions were measured using a GreenFeed system (GF), and rumination, rumen pH, rumen temperature, and motility were monitored via SmaXtec boluses. The average barn temperature-humidity index during the study was 73.2 (SD = 3.4).
Heat stress decreased DMI (19.0 ± 0.3 vs. 24.3 ± 0.3 kg/d). Heat stress decreased rumination time, rumen pH, and rumen motility, whereas ruminal temperature was increased. Consequently, Heat stress reduced milk yield and ECM. Visits of 23/80 replicates were missed due to cows not visiting the GF. Heat stress decreased the daily average number of visits per cow relative to CL cows. Heat stress reduced daily CH₄emissions, whereas it increased CH₄ yield and intensity.
Present results indicate that heat stress reduces DMI, which compromises ECM yield, but it also affects rumen function and increases CH₄yield and intensity, reinforcing its negative effect on the environmental footprint and production efficiency of dairy cattle.

High immune responder cows have lower treatment risk and reduced milk loss during highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 outbreaks. Beard SC, Carson ME, Malchiodi F, et al. JDS Commun. 2026;7(1):72-76.

The spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) hemagglutinin type 5 and neuraminidase type 1 (H5N1) into dairy cattle marks the emergence of a new threat to herd health and production efficiency for North American dairy cattle.
To address this challenge, this study evaluated whether genetic selection for improved immune response, using Immunity+ Genomic Estimated Breeding Values (GEBVs), can increase resilience to HPAI H5N1 in commercial dairy herds.
Treatment records (n = 15,386) and daily milk yield data (n = 650) were obtained from herd management software from 6 large commercial dairy herds in the United States with confirmed HPAI H5N1 outbreaks.
Cows with high Immunity+ GEBVs were 24% less likely to require supportive treatment compared with those with low Immunity+ GEBVs. High immunity cows also experienced significantly lower milk loss (484.46 kg) during the post-treatment fluctuation period compared with low immunity cows (618.10 kg).
Overall, these findings support the value of selecting for enhanced immune response to improve animal health, reduce production losses, and strengthen economic resilience during disease challenges.

Graduate Student Literature Review: Rethinking concentrate feeding strategies for precision nutrition in lactating dairy cattle. Martins LF, Hristov AN. J Dairy Sci. 2026;109(3):2331-2343.

The dairy industry in the United States has undergone significant intensification over the past several decades, resulting in improved nutrient use efficiency and economic gains, largely driven by genetic selection, improved nutrition, and better management practices. However, environmental concerns such as GHG emissions and N excretion by dairy farms remain.
Concurrently, the industry faces structural changes marked by farm consolidation, particularly affecting small farms, leading industry professionals to seek strategies aimed at increasing nutrient use efficiency and farm profitability. These are all timely issues where nutrition can have a positive effect.
In the present review, researchers discuss historical and current feeding strategies and explore opportunities for precision nutrition in dairy systems. The researchers also investigated how feed and feeding management strategies may be refined for modern dairy farming using advanced knowledge, equipment, and technology.
Traditional TMR feeding, although effective at reducing digestive issues and standardizing nutrient intake, often fails to account for individual cow variation in nutrient demands and use efficiency. Nutritional grouping has emerged as a practical step toward more precise feeding, improving both nutrient delivery and income-over-feed costs.
The future of precision feeding will depend on improved real-time data collection, automated systems, refined models for predicting individual cow response to nutrients, and real-time data integration-innovations that are emerging but not yet fully realized.
Looking ahead, advances in dairy farming efficiency are likely to come from integrating individualized feeding strategies with broader understanding of biological variability in nutrient use efficiency among cows, thereby linking precision nutrition to both environmental sustainability and profitability in dairy production.

A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Live Yeast Supplementation and Lactation Performance in Dairy Cows Under Heat Stress. Darabighane B, Podda MG, Fancello F, Atzori AS. Animals (Basel). 2026;16(3):428.

Heat stress is a major management challenge in dairy cows, leading to lower dry matter intake (DMI), reduced milk yield, and changes in milk composition. A practical nutritional strategy is supplementing diets with live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) during hot periods.
This meta-analysis evaluated the effects of live-yeast supplementation on DMI, MY, and milk components in heat-stressed dairy cows. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 14 studies were selected.
The analysis showed that live-yeast supplementation of the diets of heat-stressed dairy cows increased both DMI and milk yield. Milk fat percentage and milk lactose percentage were not significantly affected, whereas milk protein percentage tended to increase.
In contrast, milk fat yield, milk protein yield, and milk lactose yield all increased significantly. Heterogeneity was significant only for DMI, milk protein yield, and milk lactose yield.
Overall, based on the available evidence, supplementing heat-stressed dairy cows with live yeast can improve DMI and milk yield, and increase milk component yields, without materially altering component percentages.

Negative Energy Balance in Transition Cows Induces Complex Changes in Lipid Profile of Milk. Liu Z, Ezernieks V, Rochfort SJ, et al. Metabolites. 2026;16(2):103.

Negative energy balance during the transition period is associated with profound changes in the body condition and metabolic dynamics of dairy cows. However, the detailed lipidomic changes in milk induced by negative energy balance are unclear, and lipid biomarkers that indicate the energy status of cows remain to be established.
Using a combination of GC-FID, HILIC-MS and RP-LC-MS, researchers performed a systematic comparison of lipid composition between early lactating (DIM: 5-14) and mid-lactating (DIM: 65-80) milk.
The researchers found that negative energy balance in cows caused a profound modification in the profile of all the lipid classes surveyed, including phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylinositol (PI), sphingomyelin (SM), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), PC-plasmalogen (PCP), PE-plasmalogen (PEP), lactosylceramide (LacCer), acylcarnitine (AcylCar) and triglycerides (TAGs).
Except for LPC and AcylCar, which were reduced and increased, respectively, by NEB, the responses of other lipid classes varied across different species. For phospholipids and TAGs, species containing de novo FAs (C4:0-C16:0) and odd-chain FAs (C15:0 and C17:0) were markedly downregulated, whereas those comprising long-chain preformed FAs were upregulated by negative energy balance.
In conclusion, comprehensive lipidomic profiling of early and mid-lactating milk from two large cohorts of cows allowed researchers to identify nine lipids (PE 33:1, LacCer 32:1, LacCer 39:1, LacCer 41:1, SM 36:1, SM 36:2, SM 37:1, PEP 38:4 and PEP 38:5) as potential biomarkers of negative energy balance in dairy cows.

Impact of Farm Management Practices on Salmonella Occurrence at the Farm Level-A Blend of Traditional Methods and Artificial Intelligence. Marcu D, Balta I, Corcionivoschi N, et al. Foods. 2026 Feb 12;15(4):676.

Salmonella entericaremains a leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide despite decades of advances in surveillance and control. Traditional interventions have targeted specific points in the food chain, yet recurrent outbreaks show that Salmonella exploits system-wide gaps and inconsistencies.
This review synthesizes recent evidence from epidemiology, experimental microbiology, and regulatory practice to evaluate how management decisions, from farm through processing, influence Salmonellarisk in livestock-derived foods.
Poultry, pig, and cattle farms employ targeted measures, including rodent control, litter management, batch rearing, and secure feed storage, to reduce contamination. The greatest reductions in Salmonellaprevalence occur when these measures are embedded in coherent farm-to-fork programs.
Future gains are likely to come less from novel interventions and more from rigorous implementation, integration, and the validation of existing tools, supported by high-resolution surveillance (including whole-genome sequencing) and prevention-focused management systems. Artificial intelligence can enhance control through real-time surveillance, predictive risk modelling, and targeted interventions informed by diverse farm data.
Sustained progress in Salmonellacontrol will depend on rigorously applying existing interventions, supported by high-resolution surveillance and prevention-focused management. Carefully governed AI can enhance real-time monitoring and risk prediction, but its value hinges on addressing data, cost, and regulatory challenges.

Essential Oils of Dill and Nettle as a Natural Alternative to Reduce Pathogenic Bacteria on Dairy Production Surfaces. Contero R, Cachipuendo C, Felicita O, Gordillo G. Microorganisms. 2026 Feb 10;14(2):412.

Essential oils (EOs) have emerged as promising natural antimicrobials for food safety applications. However, their direct use on food-contact surfaces-such as wood and plastic, commonly employed in artisanal cheese production-has been scarcely explored.
This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial effects of dill (Anethum graveolens) and nettle (Urtica dioica) essential oils against Listeria monocytogenesand Escherichia coli, both in culture media and on inert surfaces. EOs were extracted via steam distillation and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
Antimicrobial activity was assessed using agar diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays. In addition, bacterial reduction was quantified following EO application to contaminated wooden and plastic surfaces for 40 min.
Dill EO exhibited a high anethole content (63.66%), while nettle EO was dominated by limonene (38.73%). Dill EO produced larger inhibition zones against coli(13.7 ± 1.5 mm) and L. monocytogenes (12.3 ± 1.5 mm) compared to nettle EO (6.3 ± 0.6 mm and 8.0 ± 1.7 mm, respectively).
On plastic, both EOs achieved complete inhibition of coli(100%) and greater than 92% reduction in L. monocytogenes. On wood, dill EO maintained high efficacy (up to 87.9%), whereas nettle EO showed limited reduction (29.3%) against L. monocytogenes.
These results demonstrate that EO efficacy is influenced by both surface type and target microorganism, supporting the potential of dill EO as a natural antimicrobial agent for surface sanitation in artisanal cheese production.

Nutrition and Health

Total dairy consumption is associated with healthy sleep patterns in U.S. adults. Guyonnet E, Andreeva VA, St-Onge MP.J Clin Sleep Med. 2026;22(1):10.

Emerging research suggests that diet influences sleep health; however, evidence on the specific role of dairy products remains limited.
Therefore, researchers evaluated the association between dairy product consumption and self-reported and objective sleep outcomes in U.S. adults.
Participants included 23,480 men and women (mean age 46.7 ± 17.3 years) from the 2005-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers categorized average daily dairy intake as low, moderate, and high based on sex-specific tertiles.
Sleep duration (< 7, 7-9 (ref.), ≥ 9 h/day) and trouble sleeping (yes/no) were obtained from questionnaires. Objective sleep measures were derived from accelerometer data in a subsample (n = 4,972).
Mean (SD) total dairy intake was 1.76 (+/- 1.34) cup-eq/day. High total dairy intake was associated with 16% and 23% lower odds of short and long sleep duration, respectively, and lower odds of trouble sleeping (OR_{high vs. low}=0.86). Similar associations between milk and sleep duration, and high-fat dairy and trouble sleeping were observed.
Moreover, high vs. low total dairy intake was associated with a higher sleep regularity index, and fermented dairy intake was associated with less variable sleep midpoint, and lower odds of poor sleep.
In conclusion, dairy intake, especially of fermented dairy products, is associated with better sleep patterns, via improved odds of having adequate sleep, no trouble sleeping, and less sleep variability. Longitudinal studies and clinical interventions are needed to investigate causal associations and to clarify underlying mechanisms.

Dairy Intake and Risk of Incident Inflammatory Bowel Disease in US Men and Women. Sasson AN, Casey K, Khalili H, et al. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2026 Feb 10.

Dairy consumption has been linked to the development of autoimmune diseases.
Therefore, researchers aimed to examine the association between dairy intake and risk of incident inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Researchers conducted a prospective cohort study of 197,763 participants without a baseline diagnosis of IBD in 1986 in Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), 1991 in Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII), and 1986 in Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS).
Data on dairy intake were collected every 2-4 years using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and modeled according to quintiles for total intake and quartiles for components of dairy.
Through the end of follow up in 2016 in NHS and HFPS, and 2017 in NHSII, researchers documented 347 Crohn’s disease (CD) cases and 428 cases of ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, researchers observed an inverse association between baseline dairy intake and risk of UC (aHR of 0.72) when comparing extremes of quintiles.
Among dairy components, baseline yogurt consumption (HR=0.70) was most strongly associated with decreased risk of UC. There was no consistent association between dairy intake and risk of CD.
In conclusion, in three large prospective cohort studies, researchers observed a suggestive inverse association between baseline dairy intake, particularly from yogurt, and risk of UC. Future studies are needed to confirm these results.

The dose-response relationship between dairy product intake and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Hu X, Wang K, Wu H, et al. Front Nutr. 2026 Jan 22;13:1731841.

The dose-response relationship between dairy product intake and mortality from all-causes and cardiovascular mortality remains controversial. While dairy products are key sources of essential nutrients, their health effects appear highly heterogeneous, varying by product type, fat content, and processing methods.
For example, some studies suggest whole milk increases mortality risk compared to low-fat milk, while other expert reviews from the same year conclude that dairy’s link to CVD risk is neutral regardless of fat content. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify this association by examining different dairy categories.
Researchers systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase up to June 19, 2025, for prospective cohort studies in healthy adults that reported risk estimates for the association between dairy intake and all-cause or cardiovascular mortality. 29 prospective cohort studies involving 1,680,651 participants were included.
The findings indicate that yogurt consumption (200 g/day) was associated with a reduced risk of both all-cause (HR: 0.89) and cardiovascular mortality (HR: 0.89). Cheese intake (15 g/day) was linked to a lower risk of CVD mortality only (HR: 0.95). Milk consumption (200 g/day) was associated with reduced CVD mortality in the non-sex-stratified group (the 7 studies) (HR: 0.86).
Total dairy intake showed a U-shaped association with both mortality outcomes, with an optimal intake of approximately 250-300 g/day. These results highlight that the health effects of dairy are dependent on the specific product type and dose. Fermented dairy products, particularly yogurt, appear to be more beneficial.
These findings do not support the generalized conclusion that all dairy products uniformly protect against mortality, emphasizing the need for more nuanced dietary recommendations.

Dairy products and their key nutrients as protective factors against colorectal cancer risk: The Multiethnic Cohort. Han S, Paik A, Huang BZ, et al. Int J Cancer. 2026 Feb 23.

Previous research suggests that dairy consumption may reduce colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, potentially due to key nutrients found in dairy products. However, most of these studies were performed in mainly White populations, limiting the understanding of dairy and CRC risk in other races and ethnicities.
Researchers examined associations between dairy intake and CRC risk in 192,644 participants across five racial and ethnic groups from the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study.
Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the associations of dairy products, milk, lactose, calcium, and vitamin D with CRC risk. Analyses were further stratified by race and ethnicity, sex, and tumor subsite.
Over an average follow-up of 20 years, 5743 CRC cases were identified. Higher intakes of total dairy products (hazard ratios [HR]_Q5vsQ1= 0.85) and milk (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.82) were associated with reduced CRC risk. Intakes of calcium (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.80), vitamin D (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.87), and lactose (HR_Q5vsQ1 = 0.85) also showed inverse associations with CRC.
Stratified analyses revealed stronger benefits from dairy and milk consumption among Latino participants. Tumor site analyses indicated notably stronger protection against cancers in the colon, particularly the left colon.
These findings support a protective role of dairy products and their key nutrients against CRC across diverse racial and ethnic populations. These results underscore the potential importance of dairy consumption in CRC prevention and call for further research into the biological mechanisms underlying these associations.

There may be a differential mechanistic impact on colorectal cancer of lactose-containing foods between lactase persistent and lactase non-persistent populations. Szilagyi A, Galiatsatos P, Margolese N. Front Nutr. 2026 Feb 11;13:1671166.

It is generally suggested that milk and milk products reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). While there is some controversy over specific sites affected throughout the colon and the benefits of specific dairy foods (DFs), there is a general consensus that calcium intake is the main mechanism of the cancer-reducing effects. This opinion may be sidelined by several other mechanisms.
There is also a potentially important compensatory mechanism in populations with adult genetic lactase deficiency. The microbiome changes occur through a process of adaptation to continued lactose consumption. The bacterial blooms consist largely of Bifidobacterial These bacteria may exert anti-neoplastic effects and also increase the capacity of persons with adapted lactase insufficiency to consume dairy products. Bacterial metabolism thus provides a second pathway for lactose digestion.
Since the use of Mendelian randomization (MR) accuracy disallow two different pathways for the genetic variable, this process constitutes a horizontal pleiotropy. This narrative review using articles from PubMed and Google Scholar will discuss different nutrients and mechanisms in milk and milk products that are involved in anti-neoplastic effects. The impact of adult lactase deficiency and continued dairy consumption on the microbiome, and its contribution to colorectal cancer reduction, is highlighted.
The conclusions from this review are that calcium has multifaceted mechanisms of anti-carcinogenesis, but other nutrients, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), lactoferrin, and folate in the dairy matrix, could also contribute. In lactase non-persistent (LNP) populations adapted to dairy foods, a bifidogenic bloom in the microbiome may add additional anti-neoplastic effects and /or increase dairy food consumption.

Skipping Breakfast and Lunch, as Well as Reducing Milk and Dairy Intake, Is Associated with Depressive Symptoms in Pregnant Adolescents. Sámano R, Aguirre-Minutti E, Pérez-Romero P, et al. Nutrients. 2026 Feb 22;18(4):704.

Depression is the most common mental health problem in women during pregnancy, associated with psychological, social, and medical factors characteristic of this stage. However, a lack of knowledge and limited attention to this condition can aggravate its consequences and restrict access to appropriate treatment.
This research seeks to fill a gap in the scientific literature by exploring the association between eating habits and dietary diversity with depressive symptomatology in a group with high psychosocial vulnerability: pregnant adolescents.
A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with a sample of 344 pregnant adolescents attending prenatal care at the National Institute of Perinatology (INPer), a tertiary care center. Non-probabilistic sampling was used for recruitment. Relevant information was collected using a pre-validated structured questionnaire administered via interview.
A significant association was observed between the presence of depressive symptoms (EPDS ≥ 12) and the omission of main meals. Specifically, skipping breakfast was associated with a higher prevalence of EPDS scores ≥ 12 (aPR = 1.55;). Similarly, adolescents who skipped lunch showed a higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology compared to those who did not (aPR = 2.02).
Regarding food groups, only insufficient intake of milk and dairy products was significantly associated with the presence of depressive symptoms (aPR: 1.78).
In conclusion, this cross-sectional study found a significant association between breakfast skipping, distraction while eating, and inadequate dairy intake with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in socially vulnerable pregnant adolescents treated at a tertiary care center.

Milk fat-globules derived from whey protein phospholipid concentrate prevent high-fat diet induced cognitive impairment in wistar rats in a manner associated with increased brain neuronal connectivity and sphingolipid clearance. Sylvestre DA, Liang N, Galan JG, Safar A, de Costa Souza F, Bancks MC, Sundaram V, Scott BW, Schalich K, Goodson M, Rutkowsky JM, Galang K, Ozturk G, Mills DA, Barile D, Taha AY. Biomed Pharmacother. 2026 Feb 16;196:119009.

Whey protein phospholipid concentrate (WPPC), a co-product of whey protein processing, is enriched in milk fat globules containing phospholipids, glycoconjugates and sugar monomers (e.g. sialic acid) critical to myelin synthesis in the brain.
Therefore, researchers hypothesized that WPPC will prevent cognitive impairment induced by a high fat (HF) diet by promoting myelin turnover and improving neuronal connectivity between the entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitry involved in encoding memory.
Rats were randomized from weaning to ∼5 months of age to the following diets: a low-fat (LF) diet containing 10 % fat by weight, a HF diet containing 45 % fat by weight to induce cognitive impairment, and a HF diet containing either 1.6 % (HF1.6) or 10 % (HF10) WPPC by weight (n = 12 per group).
Rats received cognitive testing after 1.5 and 4 months of dietary intervention, then implanted with chronic bipolar electrodes to measure axonal evoked responses within the entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitry by stimulating the entorhinal cortex, measuring the half-max response in the hippocampus, and comparing the half-max response to a measurement made approximately one hour later (as a marker of memory storage potential). Hippocampal phospholipid and sphingolipid components of myelin were quantified.
At 4 months, rats on the HF diet performed significantly worse on cognitive testing than rats on the LF, HF1.6 and HF10 diets. These effects were linked to slight improvements in the evoked response associated with hippocampal-dependent memory storage. Additionally, hippocampus sphingolipids were higher in rats on the HF diet compared to the LF, HF1.6 and HF10 groups.
These findings demonstrate that WPPC prevented cognitive impairment induced by a HF diet by regulating entorhinal cortex-hippocampal circuitries associated with memory storage, through modulating myelin turnover.

Innovation, Social Science, and Dairy Alternatives

The role of sugar reduction on flavor and acceptance of school lunch chocolate milk. Nakamura RP, Meletharayil H, Drake MA, et al. J Dairy Sci. 2026 Feb 4:S0022-0302(26)00073-

Milk and dairy products provide essential nutrients for the growth and development of young children. Children who consume milk are more likely to have a higher dietary calcium intake, larger skeletal structure, and higher bone mass compared with children who do not consume milk.
To ensure children are meeting the nutritional recommendations by the US Dietary Guidelines, schools are required to serve milk as part of federal school meal programs such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP).
The study’s objective was to investigate sucrose replacement in school lunch chocolate milk with nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners, with and without lactose hydrolysis of milk, on adult and child acceptance.
- In experiment 1, chocolate milk was formulated with nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners (allulose syrup, mixed-sugar syrup, stevia, monk fruit, or sucralose) to the iso-sweet intensity of a current school lunch chocolate milk formulation with 3.69% sucrose (wt/vol).
- In experiment 2, lactose-hydrolyzed (LH) chocolate milk was formulated with nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners (allulose syrup, mixed-sugar syrup, stevia, monk fruit) to the iso-sweet intensity of 3.69% sucrose (wt/vol).
- In experiment 3, LH chocolate milk was formulated with sweetener blends of allulose syrup, monk fruit, and stevia to the iso-sweet intensity 3.69% sucrose (wt/vol).
Iso-sweetness for all experiments was determined using magnitude estimation scaling and confirmed by 2-alternative forced-choice paired comparison tests. Sensory properties of chocolate milks in each experiment were documented by descriptive analysis (DA) and temporal dominance of sensations (TDS). Consumer acceptance of chocolate milks was evaluated by adult consumers for all experiments, and by child consumers for experiment 3.
Liking scores for chocolate milks sweetened with allulose syrup, mixed-sugar syrup, and sucralose were not different (P > 0.05) from the sucrose control chocolate milk, whereas liking scores for chocolate milks sweetened with stevia and monk fruit were lower than the sucrose control (P < 0.05).
Lactose hydrolysis (experiment 2) enhanced sweetness, reducing the required sweetener concentration by approximately one-third. Consumer acceptance of LH chocolate milks with different sweeteners were not different (P > 0.05).
The application of sweetener blends in LH chocolate milk resulted in minimal differences by DA and TDS, and no differences (P > 0.05) in overall liking compared with the sucrose control chocolate milk among adult and child consumers (experiment 3).
These findings demonstrate that combining lactose hydrolysis with non-nutritive sweetener blends can effectively replicate the sensory profile of sucrose-sweetened chocolate milk, offering a lactose-free, no-added-sugar alternative suitable for school lunch programs. This approach may help manufacturers meet nutritional goals while maintaining consumer appeal.

Utilizing of non-starter lactic acid bacteria as bio preservative agents to inhibit microbial contamination and extend yogurt’s shelf life. Izadi Z, Dara A. J Food Prot. 2026 Feb 26:100735.

Fungal spoilage significantly affects the quality of dairy products, causing economic losses and health risks due to mycotoxin production. While physical and chemical methods are commonly used to control spoilage, chemical additives may threaten consumer food safety. Due to their antimicrobial properties, lactic acid bacteria like Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus are promising natural preservatives.
This study evaluated the efficacy of these two bacteria to prevent mold spoilage and extend the shelf life of yogurt.
Results showed that yogurt samples containing these protective cultures were resistant to mold spoilage, increasing shelf life from 21 to 43 days compared to controls. The pH levels and sensory characteristics showed no significant differences between treated and control samples. Additionally, fermentation time was reduced by 15 min in the treated samples.
The strongest inhibition of Geotrichum mold growth was observed with Lactobacillus plantarum, showing an average inhibition zone diameter of 27 mm, while Lactobacillus rhamnosus exhibited a 23 mm zone.
These findings highlight the potential of these bacteria as natural preservatives in the dairy industry. Furthermore, molecular docking simulations were conducted to elucidate the interactions between microbial metabolites and spoilage-related enzymes, providing mechanistic insights into their antimicrobial action.

Wastewater treatment techniques for application in fat recovery from waste ice cream. Plumier BM, Garcia RA, Renye JA, Miller AL, McAnulty MJ. J Dairy Sci. 2026 Feb 4:S0022-0302(26)00069-X.

Ice cream is a popular dairy food in the United States. Unfortunately, substantial loss of product occurs during production, despite it being of acceptable quality. There are many valuable components in waste ice cream (WIC) that can be utilized if separated.
To investigate the potential of wastewater treatment techniques as a means of recovering fat from WIC, a variety of flocculants were tested on 5 ice cream varieties.
The flocculation procedure was able to concentrate 89% to 100% of the total fat in 50% to 70% of the original volume. The amount of fat recovered was consistently superior to that recovered from previous centrifugation techniques.
Increasing ice cream temperature was effective in reducing the need for flocculant, but was not economical under current cost estimates. Additionally, the remaining aqueous stream was shown to support the growth of Streptococcus thermophilus B59671 and production of its broad-spectrum bacteriocin, thermophilin 110, as well as Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y45, resulting in the production of ∼10% ethanol.
This study demonstrates the potential for utilizing flocculation strategies to efficiently concentrate fat from WIC for recovery and generate a defatted stream for use in ethanol and bacteriocin production.

Identification of antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and antioxidant peptides derived from hydrolysates of dairy white wastewaters containing milk proteins using machine learning insights. Damen D, Aboubacar H, Bazinet L, et al . Food Res Int. 2026;229:118496.

Dairy white wastewater (WW), a by-product of industrial cleaning processes, contains residual milk proteins that can be enzymatically converted into bioactive peptides.
In this study, WW proteins were hydrolyzed using four enzymes, pepsin, trypsin, thermolysin, and pronase E, for up to 240 min, and the resulting hydrolysates were evaluated for ACE inhibition, DPP-IV inhibition, and antioxidant capacity.
Thermolysin hydrolysates exhibited the strongest ACE inhibition, with IC₅₀values as low as 21.0 μg protein/mL, whereas pepsin and pronase E hydrolysates showed DPP-IV inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values of 2.4-3.1 mg protein/mL. Pepsin hydrolysates presented the highest antioxidant capacity, reaching 3.5 μM Trolox equivalents/mg protein.
LC-MS/MS analysis combined with multivariate statistics identified 60 discriminant peptides, including 17 peptides previously reported to possess antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and/or antioxidant bioactivities. Based on a combination of PLS-DA loadings, QSAR scores, novelty relative to known bioactive peptides and physicochemical diversity, 20 peptides were synthesized and validated experimentally.
Several peptides such as LRF, QW, GAWY, PPF, GPIVL, and SFNPTQL exhibited potent inhibitory effects, with micromolar IC₅₀values for ACE and/or DPP-IV. In comparison to chemically synthesized ACE inhibitors like captopril, the most potent peptide, LRF, is five times more active on a molar basis (11.34 μM vs 63.06 μM).
These findings demonstrate that WW is a promising source of multifunctional peptides and that integrating peptidomics with machine learning accelerates peptide discovery and validation.

AI-Driven Multimodal Sensing for Early Detection of Health Disorders in Dairy Cows. Paulauskaite-Taraseviciene A, Nakrosis A, Ostasevicius V, et al. Animals (Basel). 2026;16(3):411.

Digital technologies that continuously quantify animal behavior, physiology, and production offer significant potential for the early identification of health and welfare disorders of dairy cows.
In this study, a multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) framework is proposed for real-time health monitoring of dairy cows through the integration of physiological, behavioral, production, and thermal imaging data, targeting veterinarian-confirmed udder, leg, and hoof infections. Predictions are generated at the cow-day level by aggregating multimodal measurements collected during daily milking events.
The dataset comprised 88 lactating cows, including veterinarian-confirmed udder, leg, and hoof infections grouped under a single ‘sick’ label. To prevent information leakage, model evaluation was performed using a cow-level data split, ensuring that data from the same animal did not appear in both training and testing sets. The system is designed to detect early deviations from normal health trajectories prior to the appearance of overt clinical symptoms.
All measurements, with the exception of the intra-ruminal bolus sensor, were obtained non-invasively within a commercial dairy farm equipped with automated milking and monitoring infrastructure. A key novelty of this work is the simultaneous integration of data from three independent sources: an automated milking system, a thermal imaging camera, and an intra-ruminal bolus sensor.
A hybrid deep learning architecture is introduced that combines the core components of established models, including U-Net, O-Net, and ResNet, to exploit their complementary strengths for the analysis of dairy cow health states.
The proposed multimodal approach achieved an overall accuracy of 91.62% and an AUC of 0.94 and improved classification performance by up to 3% compared with single-modality models, demonstrating enhanced robustness and sensitivity to early-stage disease.

Influence of dairy farms’ characteristics and technological level on attitude towards augmented reality. Pinna D, Sara G, Cresci R, Petronella A, Todde G, Atzori AS, Caria M. Sci Rep. 2026 Feb 5;16(1):7437

The implementation of Decision Support System and data visualization technologies, as Augmented Reality (AR), offers potential advantages in herd management by enabling real-time access to critical animal data, enhancing decision-making, and providing training opportunities for farmers. However, investigating the possible spread of technologies in livestock farming is fundamental to understand which factors could influence the adoption of specific technologies by farmers.
For this reason, this study aimed to investigate factors influencing farmers’ attitudes towards the use of AR technologies, such as Smart Glasses for AR, in livestock farms.
The research involved 18 dairy farms with different technological adoption level where the main discrimination technology was the Automatic Milking System (AMS).
The study revealed that farms that use AMS generally had greater technological implementation and were more familiar with advanced livestock technologies. While both AMS farmers and Conventional Milking Parlor (CMP) farmers had positive attitudes toward AR use, CMP farmers perceived greater potential benefits because of their limited access to on-site animal data.
The study concludes that augmented reality has the potential to enhance the efficiency of livestock farming data use, especially on CMP farms, by offering an innovative method to visualize animal data. While the results align with existing literature, future studies should consider geographical constraints, sample size, and temporal and cultural variations.

Not your average dairy farmer: Clustering dairy farmers of Western Canada and Ontario based on management practices and well-being. Tambadou H, Le Heiget A, King M, et al. J Dairy Sci. 2026 Feb 14:S0022-0302(26)00126-8.

A wide array of operational and management practices characterizes the dairy farming landscape in Canada. This heterogeneity poses challenges in understanding the full range of dairy farming systems, which can lead to incomplete representations and less effective interventions aimed at improving the well-being of dairy farmers.
This study aimed to holistically explore the relationship between dairy farmers’ well-being and farm management practices.
A multiple factorial analysis was used to group dairy farmers based on various factors, including demographic characteristics, mental and physical health outcomes, farming responsibilities, work-life balance, social environment and support, animal housing and management, and concerns about various dairy-related stressors.
The analysis identified 4 distinct clusters of farmers defined by 66 significant variables. Key factors influencing the differences among the surveyed dairy producers included age, concern about finances, drought, public perceptions of the dairy industry, policies and regulations, farm responsibilities, satisfaction with professional relationships (such as those with veterinarians and feed representatives), and mental health outcomes.
Despite the variations among the clusters, a common theme emerged: most participants selected finding more time for enjoyable activities and reducing their workload as ways to improve their well-being.
The findings suggest that the nature of dairy farming and its associated responsibilities may often hinder farmers from achieving a healthy work-life balance. Furthermore, this study highlights the distinct challenges faced by various groups of dairy farmers. The typologies established in this research offer a promising foundation for providing tailored resources and support.