The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed at its Board Management meeting last week that the resources do not exist to accommodate meetings between its health claims panel and parties before claim submissions are formally made.
Daily supplements of select probiotic strains may reduce the risk of premature birth, and the complications that results from being born pre-term, say two new studies.
Four groups with an interest in pre- and probiotics will today send a letter to the European Commission and European Food Safety Authority spelling out their ongoing concerns with the European Union health claims system that, to date, has unanimously...
The high rate of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) immune health health claim rejections is likely to continue unless parameters of a well-functioning immune system can be defined, according to a Brussels-based industry group.
Differentiating between disease risk factors and disease reduction in the way that the 2006 nutrition and health claim regulation does is too arbitrary and needs revision, according to a German nutrition professor. But if such a change is needed, who...
Japanese probiotics giant Yakult says its recent EFSA probiotic health claim rejection discounted peer-review validated respiratory tract health measures, and called on the European Commission to facilitate a discussion on the matter.
Restoring a suppressed immune system to full-function could win a health claim, EFSA health claim panelist, Henk van Loveren said at last week’s gut/immune health meeting in Amsterdam.
Danone will contest the diarrhoea health claim rejection for its Actimel drinking yoghurt handed to it by the European Food Safety Authority this week.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has repeatedly emphasised that the 2006 EU nutrition and health claims regulation is a learning experience for everyone involved – from its health claims assessment panel to industry stakeholders, to the member...
Key members of the European pre- and probiotic industries left Amsterdam frustrated that the majority of their questions about immune and gut health claims remained unanswered after a meeting with the European Food Safety Authority’s health claims panel...
“It’s a critical issue to figure out how to show the health benefits with foods without crossing the borderline into medicines,” European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) NDA health claims panel working group member, Maria Saarela, told NutraIngredients at...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued its first positive health claim opinion for a prebiotic with a laxative effect – but it was not achieved via a typical prebiotic effect, according to a leading academic in the area.
Differences in the production of bacterial strains may change the potentially probiotic properties of resulting food, says a new study from Finland that ‘sets important prerequisites for quality control in probiotics’.
Probiotic-containing lozenges may reduce levels of three different pathogens in patients with chronic periodontitis, suggests a new study that also supports benefits for inflamed gums.
A probiotic strain that can survive being baked, boiled and frozen – opening up a raft of new opportunities in functional foods – is being launched on the UK market.
Probi says its business will not be affected by a recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ruling that there is not enough evidence linking a proprietary probiotic strain to a decrease in potentially harmful pathogens in the gut.
Supplements of probiotic bacteria combined with dietary counseling may reduce the risk of becoming overweight or obese after pregnancy, suggests a new study from Finland.
Ice creams with added pre- or probiotics can be formulated to have good nutritional and sensory properties, according to research, with careful balancing of the recipe to ensure acceptable taste, texture and colour.
New EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) guidance on preparing probiotic consumer health claim submissions is “flawed” and lacks biological justification, according to a leading UK academic.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced that its gut health and immunity workshop to be held in Amsterdam on December 2 will be webcast live.
Malta will host the second World Congress on Immunity Ingredients on October 28 where a science-led programme focusing on antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics will unfold.
NutraIngredient’s Snack Size Science brings you the week's top science every two weeks. This week we look at how probiotics may help keep babies healthy. A healthy baby is a happy baby.
Mapping how the gut microbiota respond to probiotic strains may help produce a framework for “evaluating and optimizing probiotic-based functional foods”, say researchers from Danone and Harvard.
French probiotic leader Danone, Swedish dairy firm Skånemejerier and ingredient supplier Probi yesterday closed a three-way probiotic juice deal, bringing the firms one step closer to an international launch of the ProViva brand.
Daily supplements of a probiotic may reduce the incidence of respiratory illness for infants during their first eight months of life, says a new study.
In the first part of this Asia-focused special edition, we look to the innovation hotbed that is Japan. Japan is well known as the world’s functional foods birthplace when Yakult kicked into life there in the 1950s with its little bottles of immune boosting,...
Daily supplements with probiotic Lactobacillus strains may reduce the incidence of acquiring the common cold by 12 percent, according to new research from probiotic player Probi.
Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts the global probiotics market will be worth $28.8bn by 2015, even though the market is still considered to be in infancy.
European supermarket shelves are still far ahead of their American equivalents with the range of products for digestive health, but the US is catching up fast says a new report.
The human nutrition division of French yeast specialist Lesaffre has launched what it says is only the second known probiotic yeast, and the first to directly target Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Finnish dairy and ingredients supplier, Valio, has lodged an immunity health claim application with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for its probiotic strain, Lactobacillus GG.
The Indian joint venture between Yakult and Danone established in 2005 to bring Yakult probiotic drinks to the Indian market is expanding with Bangalore targeted as the point of entry for southern markets.
Consumer products containing a patented ingredient that binds bacteria in the mouth responsible for tooth caries and stops them sticking to teeth could reach the market this year, according to German chemicals giant BASF.
The International Probiotics Association (IPA) is set to launch a new website early next year that will aim to deliver information about the microorganisms to consumers.
A ‘high-potency’ lactic acid bacteria supplement may ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in children, says a new study that echoes results from adult studies.
In the third excerpt from a NutraIngredients health claims roundtable, our experts wonder whether industry is being creative enough with the new European Union regulations.
Daily consumption of milk fortified with probiotics and prebiotics may reduce the incidence of childhood illness, according to a community-based, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.
The European Food Safety Authority has published dates for a series of area-specific health claim workshops beginning with gut health and immunity in Amsterdam on December 2.
Probiotics player Yakult is confident the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will hand its probiotic-immunity health claim dossier a positive opinion, despite the agency contacting it with further questions.
As Danone’s share price continues to fall three days after its half year results were released, the company cites several potential reasons for the dip but insists that health claims uncertainty is not among them.
Global probiotics leader Danone has paid an undisclosed sum to Swedish dairy Skånemejerier for a 51 per cent stake in its probiotic juice brand, ProViva.
A new study conducted with Danisco probiotics has yielded mixed results over their benefits for eczema in children, although researchers suggest that larger studies could help identify more definitive benefits.
Combining fructooligosaccharides with resistant starch could produce gut health benefits beyond the mere sum of the parts, suggests a new study from Spain.
Dutch researchers have shown that probiotic bacteria adapt to our intestines, results that will deepen our understanding of how probiotics impact health.
Stakeholders in the probiotics industry came together for a regulatory workshop in Slovakia last week to discuss how to deal with the challenges the sector faces from the new European nutrition and health claims regulations.