FDA GutProbe
Sticking with probiotics, coming in at number 8 was the “valuable addition to QC” by the FDA’s GutProbe analysis to help verify accurate labelling in commercial probiotics.
According to a paper published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, the custom DNA microarray may provide a ‘quick, more accurate, and inexpensive’ method for identifying microbials and probiotics in dietary supplements, and scientists from the FDA’s Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition report that the “FDA GutProbe” is able to identify lot-to-lot differences in probiotic products, and may be “useful for routine monitoring of batch variation as part of a 'Good Manufacturing Practices' process”.
The microarray is able to identify specific strains in supplements containing a mixture of probiotics, according Commenting on the significance of the research, Jen Patro and her co-authors wrote: “The FDA GutProbe is an efficient and reliable platform to identify the presence of microbial ingredients and determining microbe differences in dietary supplements. The GutProbe is a fast, rapid method for direct community profiling or food matrix sampling.”
Click HERE to read our full coverage of this.