Swedish probiotics supplier Probi has announced an alliance with an unnamed “major multinational” food company that will assist it in its quest to win the first probiotic health claim in the European Union.
Combining calcium phosphate supplements with probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei may enhance the colonization of the probiotic in the gut, and boost reductions in LDL cholesterol levels, says a new study with humans.
Probiotic bacteria consumed in a yogurt may not change the host’s gut populations, but they do influence carbohydrate metabolism by the resident microbes, according to an ‘elegant’ new study using identical twins and germ-free mice.
Certain probiotic strains underperform in the presence of iron-rich environments created during the active phase of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), UK researchers have found.
An International Dairy Federation taskforce has updated a 2002 inventory of safe microbial species including some probiotic species – from 112 to 221 – a list the group hopes will allow exemption from EU Novel Foods and US New Dietary Ingredient (NDI)...
Chr Hansen has commissioned a 1000-person+ trial seeking to demonstrate the immunity benefits of one of its flagship strains, Lactobacillus casei, as the leading Danish probiotics supplier continues to fight for Europe’s first approved probiotic health...
William Reed Business Media (WRBM), the publisher of NutraIngredients.com, has taken control of two leading European probiotic conferences – Probiotech and Microbiota – from French firm Gate2Tech.
Intra-regional finesse is a necessity not a luxury when it comes to doing business in the many markets of the Asia-Pacific, as leading suppliers Chr Hansen and Danisco relayed at the recent Vitafoods Asia trade show in Hong Kong.
A group of 13 academics has slammed the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) for its ‘evidence based medicinal’ approach that rules out what they view as perfectly valid nutrition science.
Danish probiotics giant Chr Hansen says its just-announced alliance with a Japanese botanical supplement maker will yield plant-probiotic combination food supplement products on European and global markets kicking off in Q1 2012.
Belgian supplier Vésale Pharma has opened a production facility for the patent-pending probiotic microencapsulation technology it kicked into life at the start of the year.
The European Commission’s directorate for health and consumer affairs, DG Sanco, has said it is close to finalising the 2758 claim-strong list of generic claims for publication in the European Union register of claims.
Market analyst Frost & Sullivan has fingered immunity and hypertension as two promising nutrient areas, with events such as the recent Swine flu crisis feeding consumer interest in nutritional solutions to health issues.
Regular consumption of dairy-based probiotic formulations are associated with a 20% reduction in the risk of pre-eclampsia, suggests new data from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
A new biopolymer technology that protects probiotic bacteria during transit through the body could provide a major boost for the industry, according to new research.
The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) health claims panel says there are no grounds for it to alter its rejection of a claim that sought to link probiotic cheese consumption and healthy blood pressure.
The makers of the Microwarriors probiotic and prebiotic documentary that has been raising probiotic awareness since its release at the beginning of the year, are working on a video game set for launch next year.
UK firm Probiotics International (Protexin) has acquired fellow UK digestive products maker, The Healthy Bowels Company, in an undisclosed deal that sees Protexin gain control of €2m+ pre-probiotic combination brand, Lepicol.
Finnish dairy group and ingredients supplier Valio has challenged the European Food Safety Authority’s rejection of its probiotic-gut health claim submission earlier this year, and called on the agency to better define its “methodological and statistical...
Profits have surged 60% at Swedish probiotics player BioGaia as its focus on the medical channel sees its business growing in all markets, with Italy and Japan gaining special mention.
The recent spate of 1000s of E. coli infectionsin Europe – with no known treatment – that sprang from contaminated vegetables could be reduced in occurrence and severity by probiotics, in vitro trials demonstrate.
Leading right-wing UK tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail found room in its pages today to slam more than just London’s looters with functional foods also taking a beating for delivering false promises.
Regulatory uncertainty in Europe and a string of high-profile lawsuits in the US has made firms much more cautious about making health claims about probiotics, according to one California-based supplier.
Consumer awareness of the benefits of prebiotic fibers and probiotics for digestive health has risen steadily in the US over the past five years, according to a new survey into functional foods.
Consumption of oligosaccharides from food sources, rather than solely from breast milk, could help to boost childhood nutrition and immunity, reducing the risk of food allergy and dermatitis, says a new review.
Waste fibres from the agricultural and food processing industry could be used for the nano-encapsulation of bioactives such as probiotics, according to new research.
EFSA’s Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) has turned down a probiotic-children’s gut health claim from Italian company Centro Sperimentale del Latte because of non-characterised strains and a non-beneficial claim.
The ability of probiotics to influence the immune system differs greatly, depending on the strain, Dutch and Belgian researcher have said in findings that could influence clinical trial design.
The potential beneficial effects of select bacterial strains are dependent on the organisms being alive, says a new study that supports the WHO definition of probiotics as being ‘live microorganisms’.
Relying on your gut to make decisions may have a lot of truth to it, as research suggests that probiotic modification of the gut may influence the brain and affect mood.
A protein on the surface of specific probiotic bacteria may promote anti-inflammatory responses in the gut and explain the potential role of select probiotics to ease symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), says a new study.
Data gaps are preventing a comprehensive assessment of the risk and benefits of probiotics in processed cereal-based baby foods, finds a Norwegian food safety body, which has flagged up the need for randomized placebo-controlled research.
As the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) delivers hundreds of batch five general function health claim rejections to an ever-frustrated academic and commercial community, EFSA health claims panelist Ambroise Martin, PhD, tells NutraIngredients why...
The Board of Directors of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) has published an open letter in the British Journal of Nutrition demanding pre-submission meetings with EFSA and a complete claims assessment rethink.
EFSA HEALTH CLAIM OPINIONS - ARTICLE 13, BATCH 5 (Complete)
Russia’s probiotic market that has shown annual growth rates of around 50% in recent years and settled closer to 10%, is benefitting from medical profession support, according to a leading paediatrician.
Dead probiotic bacteria that typically reside alongside live cultures in probiotic formulations, could be contributing to healthful effects, researchers told the Probiotech conference in Milan, Italy, last week.
Metagenomic developments are providing new insights into the here-to-now largely mysterious mechanisms of behaviour displayed by gut microbiota – just the kind of data required by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to win claims.
Daily probiotic supplements may accelerate transit time and boost general gut health, says a new study from Danisco and Fonterra heralded as providing ‘Level I evidence’.
Probiotics are best used for their potentially beneficial effects on gut health, but they may also help to boost immune functions – an effect that could benefit sports stars in the future, according to a leading sports scientist.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is calling on researchers to submit projects investigating probiotic benefits in women and children, and has set an August 15 submission deadline.
The European Commission is giving member states the opportunity to submit new data to back general function, article 13.1 probiotic claims rejected for being insufficiently characterised.
Supplementing breast feeding mothers with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and select probiotics may enhance the fat content of the milk, and boost the immune benefits of the breast milk, suggests a new study from Finland.
Frustrated Finnish dairy and ingredients firm Valio says the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) rejection of its probiotic claim contradicted or ignored peer reviewed data in its dossier that included 86 studies.
The European Food Safety Authority has rejected an article 13.5 health claim that sought to link consumption of the probiotic strain, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, with gastrointestinal benefits.
