Metamorphosis of Traditional and Modern Starters in the Dairy Industry

The starters of dairy products play a crucial role in the texture of the products and their desired quality. These bacteria can be extracted from various native and traditional sources and can be obtained commercially and industrially with the advancement of science and technology. Considering that a large amount of financial turnover in the world is spent on trading commercial starter strains,   knowing strong local resources for the extraction of starters can help greatly in reducing the costs of importing foreign and commercial strains. On the other hand, since commercial strains are genetically manipulated, they may not meet the level of quality desired by the consumer and become inactive over time due to excessive consumption. In addition, in recent decades, researchers and industries have moved toward  the production and development of probiotic foods, which is a new paradigm in starter industries. Therefore, in this review, the importance and position of native starters in the dairy industry and their transformation over time have been investigated.