Strong growth in the Americas and Asia is helping the probiotics industry to strong success, while the European market recovers from regulatory challenges by focusing on blends and 'piggybacking claims', say probiotics business experts.
Dispatches from the IPA World Congress in Athens, Greece
The EU’s central food science agency will next month open a consultation on immune and gut health that will inform a revised guidance that could come before year’s end and may appease sector anxiety.
Consuming probiotics may decrease the duration of common upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) by up to a day, compared to placebo, according to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
NutraIngredients went to LA recently to question two leading probiotic academics about probiotics and the microbiome and which we present exclusively here. The interviews form part of a new documentary to be narrated by Leonard Nimoy, better known as...
A study involving 167 breastfed and probiotic formula fed ‘excessive crying’ infants has found no benefits for the formula-fed ones, even though other studies showed probiotics could reduce the malady.
Industry-sponsored academic research leads to innovative patents and licenses, and may not skew science towards inventions that are less accessible and less useful to others, according to a new analysis.
Finnish dairy and ingredients giant Valio has inked a deal with major Norwegian food and drink maker Tine to license its LGG probiotic strain in Tine’s Biola juice range.
Ingredients giant Chr. Hansen has an unchanged outlook for full year, after a strong second quarter eased the woes created by the firm losing its biggest colours customer in Q4 last year.
The unique microbial composition of female breast tissue has given scientists new insight into the interaction between different bacteria in the human body and the effects this has on health.
Americans are often described as lagging behind their European counterparts when it comes to awareness of probiotics, but the growth potential in the US market is “huge”, says leading supplier DuPont.
Companies that manufacture probiotic products can learn much from other fast-moving-consumer-good (FMCG) firms like shower gel, pharmaceutical and smoothie makers in NPD, an expert says.
An explosion in microbiome science has prompted Chr. Hansen to appoint a scientific advisory board of “internationally recognised thought leaders in the field” to explore new opportunities for using bacteria to improve human health.
Our microbiome may play a central role in immune responses to infections, according to new research revealing how beneficial bacteria are necessary for the development of innate immune cells.
Research backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation could offer a new solution to the problem of vitamin A deficiency by creating modified gut bacteria, researchers told NutraIngredients.
The way in which our gut bacteria interact with each other may have vital implications for the risk of developing type 1 diabetes, according to new research.
Swedish probiotic player BioGaia has broadened and strengthened its ties with food manufacturing giant Nestlé by agreeing a deal for clinical research and new product development (NPD), according to the firm.
The use of edible films could be a new approach to the production of functional cereals and bakery products with added probiotics, according to new research.
The makeup of microbes living in our gut may be a risk factor for colorectal cancer and could drive the development of intestinal tumours, say researchers.
A fermented sausage product that is made with probiotic lactobacilli bacteria isolated from infant faeces could transform the meat product in to a health food, according to new research.
UK-based Probiotics International Ltd (PIL) is replacing all references to ‘probiotics’ with ‘live bacteria’ in its marketing materials after the UK advertising watchdog ruled ‘probiotic’ to be an unauthorised implied health claim under EU rules.
New funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) could help researchers to better understand how beneficial bacteria break down non-digestible carbohydrate.
Industry must do more to understand the inter-species interactions of multi-strain probiotic products rather than assuming that 'more is better', warns Professor Gregor Reid.
People living in cold, northern latitudes have a greater proportion of gut bacteria that may predispose them to obesity, according to new meta-analysis data.
The founder of the International Probiotics Association (IPA) has called on the Global Alliance for Probiotics (GAP) to work with it to develop the science and dossiers that can win health claims in Europe and elsewhere.
The market for probiotic yoghurt in 20 key European Union markets will fall 4.5% in the five years between now and 2018, but the overall sector trend remains positive, Euromonitor International analyst Ewa Hudson told a packed Probiota congress in Amsterdam...
Infant formulas fortified with nutrients like prebiotics and probiotics and omega-3s do not provide, “a clear benefit as compared to control formula”, says a report published this week by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
“I get personal because they [EFSA] get personal to me"
Veteran probiotic researcher professor Gregor Reid is not a happy man. It’s time the probiotic community fought back against those forces that have for too long denied a perfectly valid body of nutrition science in the form of commercial claims. It’s...
The term ‘probiotic’ may be banned in the European Union – along with its cousin ‘prebiotic’ – but sales remain steady, and the global picture is buoyant, says leading analyst, Euromonitor International.
German fragrance and flavours house Symrise has increased its stake in Swedish probiotics specialist Probi to 30.03%, and is now obliged under law to make a formal takeover bid.
Last week, Peter Zambetti, director of global business development at Capsugel and chairman of the International Alliance of Dietary Supplement Associations (IADSA), discussed the impact of GMPs on the global health & nutrition (H&N) sector. In...
A new bioinformatics platform created by a consortium of European SMEs and research institutes could help industry predict the functionality of food bacteria and probiotics based on their genome.
A probiotics specialist in the Netherlands has won a second claim for a multi-strain probiotic blend targeting vaginal health under European Union medical devices legislation.
Probiota 2014 – relocated from Brussels to Amsterdam and organised by NutraIngredients – will bring together the finest scientific and commercial minds operating in the pre- and probiotic sector in a 2-day, 2-stream event.
A 3-strain probiotic blend can reduce the occurrence of a bowel condition common among premature babies, researchers writing in Pediatrics journal have found.
Brazil, Russia, India, China – as well as Mexico – are the fastest growing markets for functional dairy products, according to a Euromonitor International presentation given last week at the Healthy and Functional Dairy event.
While consumption of probiotics may have health benefits, preventing childhood asthma is not one of them, according to new data published in the British Medical Journal.