Brits are responding to successful marketing from the likes of Danone and Yakult and embracing digestive health products such as probiotic yoghurts and drinks, but the market has plenty of room for further growth, according to a Datamonitor report.
Most Australian consumers are still not ready to believe the claims made by probiotic products, despite a steady and growing interest in their value for improving digestive health, according to Datamonitor.
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.
Yesterday’s lead story on NutraIngredients.com reported comments made about probiotics by Michael Wilson, a London-based microbiology professor, when speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK last week.
Probiotic foods and supplements don’t help the healthy and can cause problems for those unfortunate enough to be sick, a UK microbiology professor has said at a science event.
DG Sanco, the European Commission’s health and consumer protection arm, has published comments made to it by concerned parties about varying health claim opinions as they have come in from the European Food safety Authority (EFSA).
Many consumers remain confused about just what prebiotics are and what they do, but they are responding to the general gut health messaging surrounding various prebiotic forms, and seeking prebiotic products, according to Frost and Sullivan.
Probi, a Swedish probiotic specialist and major functional dairy, Skånemejerier, are teaming up to debut a probiotic beverage to complement a probiotic juice, ProViva, they have had on-market since 1994.
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.
After taking part in a Pharmanager seminar at Vitafoods in Geneva, Dr Jean-Michel Antoine, a 30-year research and development veteran at Danone, tells Shane Starling why the French dairy firm has pulled three article 13.5 probiotic yoghurt claims from...
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.
Finnish biotech firm, Elixi Oil Oy, says a patent-pending, probiotic-based fermentation system can produce probiotic, yoghurt-like products derived from flax and other grains that are suitable for the lactose intolerant, those with celiac disease as well...
Danish probiotics supplier, Chr Hansen, is investigating the satiety potential of a version of the probiotic strain, Lactobacillus casei, under a new programme called ProSat.
French dairy giant Danone has withdrawn claims from the controversial EU nutrition and health claim process because it is waiting for procedural guidance from the claims assessment agency, the European Food safety Authority (EFSA).
Stock market-listed Taiwanese probiotics specialist, GenMont, has won “health food designation” from the Chinese Department of Health for two of its probiotics for use in food and beverage products.
Dutch probiotics specialist, Winclove Bio Industries, has launched a six-strain probiotic supplement that has earned a vaginal infection-related health claim certification in the Netherlands.
Supplements of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota may ease symptoms of anxiety in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), according to new research funded by Yakult.
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.
Swedish probiotics specialist, Probi, has had a health claim linking probiotic consumption and improved iron absorption dismissed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Probiotics will continue to expand beyond the yoghurt and yoghurt drink category that has brought them to global prominence according to a probiotic market review conducted by French health food sector consultancy, Alcimed.
Probiotics are best known for their digestive health benefits, but research is pointing to benefits in unexpected areas. Shane Starling met with Yakult’s Netherlands-based science manager, Dr Jia Zhao, after she spoke at a recent conference on functional...
The influential UK-based consumer welfare advocate, Which?, has poured scorn on some functional foods, despite the fact 59 per cent of its highly sceptical members buy omega-3, probiotic and other functional foods.
Double encapsulation of bacterial strains with potential probiotic activity may enhance the shelf-life and offer protection against harsh stomach conditions, says a new study.
Probiotics pioneer Yakult says preliminary research indicates the interrelationship of the nervous systems of the gut and the brain could confer cognitive benefits when probiotics are consumed.
One of the world’s leading probiotics specialists says consumers are interested in probiotic cheese products but cheese manufacturers and probiotic suppliers need to get their scientific house in order and clarify their marketing messages.
Daily supplements of the probiotic bacterial strain Lactobaccilus casei rhamnosus may boost the immune health of children, and prevents many infections, says new research.
Probiotics have had a rapid rise to public prominence in North America since Danone launched probiotic drinkable and spoonable yogurts on the US market in 2005, but probiotic cheeses have won little favor, according to Euromonitor research.
Swedish probiotics specialist, BioGaia, has turned in an impressive set of financial results for 2008, maintaining the 30 per cent-plus growth it has achieved annually for the best part of this decade.
An ever tighter focus on the ability of gut microflora to affect metabolism and control weight is the result of a new agreement signed between Nestlé’s northern France-based Research Centre and Imperial College London.
Dutch scientists have reported that the potential immune system enhancing effects of probiotics may be due to an activation of specific genes in the walls of our intestines.
Unilever has teamed up with Finnish dairy and ingredients supplier, Valio, to launch a probiotic spread in Germany and Sweden with “strengthening natural defences” as the central selling point.
Danish ingredients giant Chr Hansen has purchased Urex Biotech, a Canadian company it has long worked with to bring probiotic supplements to a market demonstrating growth rates of more than 10 per cent internationally.
Consumption of a combination probiotic and prebiotic supplement for two weeks was found to improve the gut and immune health of a group of seniors, according to a study conducted by Danisco.
Identifying the bacteria in a food product – be they probiotic or pathogenic – may be as easy as reading a bar-code, according to a novel technique called optical mapping.
A pilot study from Russia and the US indicates that supplements of Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus plantarum 8PA3 may improve the health of an alcoholic’s liver.
The probiotic strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis HN019 are safe and well-tolerated, according to a new study from New Zealand.
Scientists have found a proprietary probiotic strain, BLIS K12, can deliver immunity and respiratory benefits that go beyond previously investigated oral health potential.
Canada-based scientists report the successful incorporation of Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1, potentially offering a new probiotic product.
A drinking straw innovator, a leading probiotics supplier and the world’s biggest aseptic beverage packager have teamed up to deliver a probiotic drink that has attracted the interest of the world’s biggest beverage companies. Shane Starling met with...
Finnish dairy and ingredients supplier, Valio, will submit data it believes may alter the negative opinion for a probiotic-related, gastro-intestinal health claim delivered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently.
Canadian probiotics supplier, Lallemand, has responded to the growing wealth and interest in healthy foods in China by formalising an existing probiotics-based partnership with a Chinese nutrition company.
Chr Hansen has launched two new probiotic cultures which it says allow manufacturers of low-fat yoghurt to add the healthy bacteria to their products while also maintaining a thick, creamy texture.
Modifying our gut bacteria with probiotics and prebiotics may be a new weapon in the fight against obesity. Three experts active in this field discuss the current state of play, and what the future may hold for weight management with probiotics and prebiotics.
