With ‘healthy’ populations identified as the ideal for the European Food Safety Authority’s health claims, NutraIngredients asks Yakult – what exactly is healthy?
Probiotics should be considered as living drugs rather than “simple good bacteria” in order to become effective treatment options for IBS, according to Joseph Haddad, medical director of Institut Rosell-Lallemand.
Consumers are moving toward healthier products for both themselves and the environment according to a new US market survey from researcher, HealthFocus International.
US researchers have successfully transferred gut bacteria from obese humans to germ-free mice, a breakthrough that will allow a more detailed study of the link between gut microflora and obesity.
Danisco has started expansion of its cultures plant in Madison, Wisconsin, which it says responds to increased demand for direct vat inoculants (DVI) cultures in the US.
Probiotics are to take centre stage in a new series of TV documentaries, the first of which will be screened next Fall on major TV channels in the United States, including Public Service Broadcasting outlets, National Geographic and Discovery, along with...
Minnesota-based UAS Laboratories says at least three companies are selling probiotic products that fraudulently claim to contain its trademarked, Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 strains.
Immune health from gut health is not too obscure for consumers, but work needs to be done on identifying the mechanisms involved, said the conclusions from a two-day meeting in Toulouse.
Men are the next key target area for the growing probiotic market, says a new report, but they won’t be turned on by the same health messages as women.
The legal firm that mounted the class action against Dannon that resulted in a $35m out-of-court settlement, is one of several law firms that have mounted a similar action against another probiotic product, this time General Mills’ Yo-Plus.
Get your pitchforks ready! There are evil-doers out there! We’ve been conned: Probiotics don’t work. Dannon’s settling out of court, EFSA’s rejecting health claims, and the media is starting a witch hunt.
Reaction to Dannon’s $35m out-of-court probiotic settlement has been varied – from those accusing the company of scientific and marketing negligence to staunch defense of the company’s right to market products even when the science is not conclusive.
In HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds it is not the almighty weapons of humanity that defeated the invading Martians. It is a lack of immunity to the earth’s tiny pathogenic bacteria.
New areas of opportunity in the market for probiotics include formulating products specifically targeting men, and expanding to categories beyond gut health and immunity, according to Euromonitor.
Dannon’s out-of-court settlement of the $300m class action mounted against it the beginning of last year contains some interesting clauses such as the fact Dannon has only committed to altering its on-pack immunity marketing for three years.
Dannon is removing the word “immunity” from its DanActive probiotic drink on-package marketing after concluding an out-of-court settlement last week over alleged misleading probiotic claims.
The US FDA is being sued over its health claims regime – actions that are unlikely to succeed according to most pundits – but they raise serious questions about healthy food messaging and free speech that are being felt globally.
Applying probiotic bacteria to fresh-cut apple wedges may offer an alternative way for a daily boost to gut health, and offer a dairy-free alternative, suggests new research from Ireland.
Probiotic firm Ganeden Biotech has launched a novel thin strip technology for the healthy bacteria, intended as an alternative supplement delivery system.
Ingredients giant, Danisco, has developed a processing technology it says “toughens up” probiotic cultures to extend high bioavailability shelf-life beyond five months.
Specially ‘designed’ probiotics may prevent the development of disease during gut infections of bacterial pathogens, according to new research presented today.
Communicating the digestive or immune health benefits of probiotic products is a better way to reach consumers than highlighting the term ‘probiotic’, according to dairy giant Dannon.
Digestive health is the primary focus of food products marketed around the world for an added health benefit – except in the United States, reveal new market figures.
Daily consumption of a probiotic fermented milk product may improve gut health and well-being in women with everyday digestive problems, says a new study from Danone.
A look into the probiotic crystal ball reveals that genetically engineered "friendly" bacteria could be switched on by specific prebiotic sugar, possibly leading to a new generation of pre- and probiotic products.
The gut health boosting effects of probiotics may also extend to preventing and eradicating parasitic infections, according to ‘early data’ from the US.
A daily supplement of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains may reduce the incidence of cold and 'flu-like symptoms in children by 50 per cent, says a new study from Danisco.
New Jersey-based Pharmachem Laboratories has inked a deal with Italian firm, Probiotical, to exclusively supply its probiotic strains to the US market – its first move into the probiotics market.
The International Probiotics Association (IPA) is relocating its headquarters to Europe, a move that comes just a few months before the group expects to be accepted into the Codex Alimentarius.
The Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to a Minnesota-based supplements manufacturer for making misleading claims that its probiotic supplements could prevent or treat human swine flu (H1N1).
Young researchers at the University of Virginia and Harvard University have won $50,000 grants to investigate the role of probiotics in health and disease.
Danisco and YoCream are claiming a US first with the launch of a frozen yoghurt product containing Howaru Dophilus probiotic cultures, which have been clinically researched for digestive health benefits.
The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) has released a “clarified definition” of the term ‘probiotic’, which it says will help manufacturers and regulators ensure the proper use of the bacteria.
Increasing knowledge of how the gut and brain is opening up the possibilities for probiotics. At the 5th International Yakult Symposium in Amsterdam, Stephen Daniells met Professor John Bienenstock from McMaster University to find out where the current...
When shopping, consumers very quickly decide on a brand’s worth and unless they are making positive ticks in their minds to an array of factors, it is likely they will pass your functional food by, according to a leading consultant.
Probiotic supplier Ganeden has entered a new collaboration that allows the firm to store its ingredients in the cap of a beverage bottle, and dispense them into the drink at the point of consumption.
Public interest in probiotic foods and beverages has never been stronger and will continue to surge aided by medical fraternity interest, according to a recent Dannon and Yakult-funded meeting of international scientists and medical professionals.
Canada’s new probiotics monograph may be lacking, but it is a step in the right direction, according to the International Probiotics Association (IPA), which hopes the guidance will encourage other governments to provide clear positions on the ingredients.
Global probiotics leader, Danone, has given $7m to a Canadian research institute towards building the body of science backing the various benefits of probiotic microorganisms.
A recently published monograph by Health Canada is ‘insufficient’ and could lead to a ‘fooling of the consumer’ according to a leading probiotics researcher.
A combination of probiotic strains and prebiotic fibre may reduce the incidence of childhood infections by about 25 per cent, according to a new study from Lallemand.
Daily supplements of a multi-bacterial strain food may reduce the risk of eczema by 58 per cent during the first three months of life, according to a new study from The Netherlands.
Probiotic supplements during the first trimester of pregnancy may help women lose weight after the infant’s birth, say new findings presented today at the European Congress on Obesity.
A selection of “whole foods” have been chosen in a top five top functional foods selected by the New York State Dietetic Association (NYSDA), with probiotic, low-fat yogurts being the only truly technical, fortified food.
Ice-cream as a vehicle for delivering probiotic strains has ‘great potential’, giving a health boost without affecting the sensory profile of ice-cream, say Brazilian scientists.
Dannon, the US arm of French dairy giant Danone, is settling class actions mounted against it for making false and misleading probiotic health claims, according to press reports.
