One important task of the Fair CT96-1028 project (Demonstration of Nutritional Functionality of Probiotic Foods) has been to demonstrate the possibility of producing, on a pilot scale, probiotic dairy foods acceptable to European consumers. In the project, different Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. strains were shown to be suitable for probiotic organisms. Culture concentrates were produced by standard methods, and showed high cell concentrations and good survival during storage at low temperatures. The starter cultures were used in producing several different probiotic dairy foods. Under certain conditions probiotic stratus may be used as the sole fermenting agent in milk. However, in many cases use of a support culture is preferable. Probiotic dairy products were shown to have good organoleptic properties, and the survival of the probiotic organisms was excellent during the shelf life of the products. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.