Dairy product quality is a key concern for both producers and consumers, recently, consumers are paying more attention to the quality of food they consume, especially to their health value and functional properties with dairy products leading in this field accounting for over 40% of this market. Consumer awareness of the importance of healthy functional food and eating lifestyle is developing and the need to satisfy the dietary requirements of different consumer groups including vulnerable ones such as children, aged, allergic, pregnant women and people with gastrointestinal health problems. The increasing interest in health promoting foods attracted attention of the industry to focus on the development of functional foods such as those which incorporate bioactive compounds.

     The consumption of food products that are rich in natural antioxidants improves the antioxidant profile through scavenging of free radicals which results to oxidative stress. The use of antioxidants to inhibit the oxidation of dairy products can be economically sound for both consumer and the food industry. The dairy industry is actively looking for solutions to increasing product shelf life. Thus, researchers are currently focusing on alternative natural preservatives which are effective and safer compared to synthetic preservatives counterparts. Enrichment of milk products with natural bioactive compounds is a promising approach to serve consumers with health functional foods which have been associated with prevention of various health ailments including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Dairy products are one of the most nutritionally complete foods that are valuable sources of protein 3.5%, fat 4%, lactose 4.7%, vitamins and minerals 0.8% and several essential amino acids. Milk also, contains significant number of enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase, these enzymes offer significance line of defense against free radicals.

     The present PhD study aims to evaluate whether milk matrices enriched with the mixture of grape pomace and resveratrol bioactive compounds can induce changes in quality and shelf-life of derived dairy products. Also, the present work aims to study how different processing conditions such heat treatment, acid gelation and storage condition impact the quality and shelf life of dairy products fortified with natural antioxidants. Understanding these effects could contribute to the development of strategies for enhancing dairy product quality and extending shelf-life. The outcome of this thesis will provide critical information for the food industry in terms of optimum processing techniques and strategies to improve the quality of dairy products during their shelf life.