Yakult entered the Swiss market in 2013 and now has official backing to make gut health claims from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.
The claim that can be used on Yakult’s Lactobacillus casei-containing little bottles states: “Yakult contributes to the normal functioning of the intestine by improving stool consistency and reducing transit time.”
Yakult said its data dossier contained a review of studies conducted by both Yakult and external scientists.
Yakult, launched in the 1930s, operates in 33 countries.
Supplier DuPont-Danisco also won a digestive claim in Switzerland in 2014 for its strain Bifidobacterium lactis HN019.
In 2013 Danone’s B. animalis CNCM-I_2494 strain used in its Activia spoonable yoghurt was backed in healthy adults who consumed two portions of 125g a day.
The claim read: “Activia contributes to digestive comfort by reducing transit time and bloating.”
Probiotic claims remain unauthorised in the European Union’s 28 member states under the EU nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR). Switzerland is not a member of the EU.