en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:1;"><b>Background:</b> The growing demand for reduced-sugar functional dairy drinks has increased interest in natural sweeteners. This study investigated the effect of partially replacing sucrose with stevia in milk-based beverages containing black tea, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and star anise extracts on physicochemical properties, microbiological quality, and sensory characteristics during storage.<br> <b>Methods:</b> All sucrose-replacement formulations contained the selected herbal extracts and were evaluated on days 1, 14, and 30 of storage. Physicochemical analyses included pH, titratable acidity, fat, total solids, and sucrose content. Microbiological quality was assessed by total bacterial and coliform counts. Sensory attributes were evaluated by trained panelists using a 5-point hedonic scale under blinded conditions.<br> <b>Results:</b> Physicochemical properties changed during storage among the formulations. Microbial counts increased over the storage period; however, no consistent significant differences were observed among the sucrose-stevia replacement treatments. Sensory evaluation indicated that the formulation containing 100% sucrose generally received the highest scores for taste and overall acceptability. Increasing the level of sucrose replacement with stevia, particularly at higher substitution levels, negatively affected taste and overall acceptance.<br> <b>Conclusion:</b> Partial sucrose replacement with stevia is feasible, but high levels reduce sensory acceptability. No consistent negative effect on microbiological quality was observed during storage.</span></span></span></div> Milk-based beverage, Herbal extracts, Stevia, Physicochemical properties, Food safety, 0 0 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-497-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Nesa Azimzadeh nesaazimzadeh79@gmail.com 100319475328460016861 0009000972664539 No Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Adel Mirza Alizadeh a.alizadeh@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460016862 0000000172685115 Yes Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Majid Aminzare m.aminzare@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460016863 0000000323167420 No Health and Environment Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Hassan Hassanzadazar hassanzadazar_h@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460016864 0000000278737593 No Nutrition and Food Security Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran. Fataneh Hashempour-Baltork fhashempour92@yahoo.com 100319475328460016865 0000000326700956 No Halal Research Center of IRI, Iran Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran. Majid Shirmohammadi m.shirmohammadi66@gmail.com 100319475328460016866 0009000346451990 No Research and Development Department, Zanjan Pegah Dairy Co., Iran Dairy Industries Co., Zanjan, Iran.