The association of dairy products consumption with risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been inconsistently reported in observational studies. A systematic review and meta-analysis of published observational studies was conducted to quantitatively evaluate this association. Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed and EMBASE databases and by carefully checking the bibliographies of retrieved full reports and related reviews. Eligible studies were observational studies that investigated the association between dairy products consumption and risk of MetS in adults, with risk estimates available. Random-effects model was assigned to calculate the summary risk estimates. The final analysis included 15 cross-sectional studies, one case-control study and seven prospective cohort studies. Higher dairy consumption significantly reduced MetS by 17% in the cross-sectional/case-control studies (odds ratio = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73–0.94), and by 14% (relative risk [RR] = 0.86, 95% CI, 0.79–0.92) in cohort studies. The inverse dairy-MetS association was consistent in subgroup and sensitivity analyses. The dose-response analysis of the cohort studies conferred a significant 6% (RR = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.90–0.98) reduction in the risk of MetS for each increment in dairy consumption of one serving/d. No significant publication bias was observed. Our findings suggest an inverse dose-response relationship between dairy consumption and risk of MetS.

The performance of the ISO method for the ‘Enumeration of the Specially Thermoresistant Spores of Thermophilic Bacteria in Dried Milk’ (ISO/TS27265; 2009) was compared with a more practical method. Both were tested for predictability of spoilage of UHT treated reconstituted milk. The data show that heating for 30 min at 100 °C has the same predictive value as heating for 30 min at 106 °C, provided that specifications are increased 1 log10 and the use of TSA as a cultivation medium is recommended over PCMA. Predictability of spoilage using classical plating methods is furthermore discussed in relation to variation in spore heat resistance of spores commonly present in the dairy industry.

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