 "S. thermophilus" is one of the most widely used bacteria in the dairy industry.USDA statistics from 1998 showed that more than 1.02 billion kilograms of mozzarella cheese and 621 million kilograms of yogurt were produced from "S. thermophilus".Although its genus, "Streptococcus", includes some pathogenic species, food industries consider "S. thermophilus" a safer bacterium than many other "Streptococcus" species.