2010 ISAPP meeting information - for invited participants only

Conference Considers Options for US Federal Regulation of Probiotics. On June 14, 2010, The University of Maryland School of Law hosted the first of a series of multidisciplinary meetings being held as part of a Human Microbiome Project ELSI (Ethical, Legal, Social Implications) grant to study federal regulation of probiotics. The project is headed by Diane E. Hoffmann, MS, JD, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Director, Law and Health Care Program, University of Maryland School of Law. Participants in the conference included members of academia and the scientific research, business, legal and federal regulatory communities, and included two ISAPP board members, Gregor Reid and Mary Ellen Sanders . This initial meeting focused on identifying key regulatory issues and achieving a broad-based understanding of the science relating to probiotics and the current federal regulatory framework for probiotics. Subsequent sessions will focus on attempting to find answers to these questions. The next meeting is being planned for January 2011. June 14 meeting agenda.

International Dairy Federation Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2010 winners announced in Tromsö, Norway. The IDF Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2010 was awarded in three categories Nutrition and Health, Biotechnology and Microbiology. Awardees included 2 ISAPP Board of Directors members, Prof. Todd R. Klaenhammer and Prof. Colin Hill. In addition, Dr. Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop from Danone Research, who leant her support in the conceptualization and early implementation stages of ISAPP’s creation, received the Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2010 Award of Recognition. Details.

ILSI Europe Functional Foods Task Force has issued a report "Beyond PASSCLAIM - Guidance to Substantiate Health Claims on Foods" from a meeting held 14-16 December 2009 in Nice, France.
Report

The 4-part lecture Webinar Series on Probiotics and Prebiotics, developed in collaboration with the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America, the American Gastroenterological Association and ISAPP, concluded on June 3, 2010. The 1-hour lectures will be archived at the GI Learn section of the AGA website.

NIH/FDA-supported evidence-based review due out summer of 2010 titled "Safety of Probiotics Used to Reduce Risk and Prevent or Treat Disease"

Probiotic safety report of 2008 ISAPP discussion group "Assessment of probiotic safety for human use" has been published by Gut Microbes. Open access

NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine announces funding opportunities in the area of probiotics and prebiotics. Information.

The American Society for Nutrition in partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians will present a free webinar on nutrition and digestive health (July 14). Information.

At the 7^th annual meeting of ISAPP this past November, a student/fellow association (SFA) of ISAPP was founded. Under the insightful leadership of Delphine Saulnier, the organization has approved a constitution and started a website and Facebook page and proposed many additional activities. See http://isapp-sfa.camp7.org/ for information.

New book edited by Åsa Ljungh and Torkel Wadström titled Lactobacillus Molecular Biology: From Genomics to Probiotics is now available from Caister Academic Press. Reviews and contents.

Third India Probiotics Symposium: “Probiotic Foods in Health and Disease”, held November 21-22, 2009, in New Delhi, featuring keynote address by ISAPP Past President, Gregor Reid. Webcast.

A report was issued by 9 European scientific experts in the field of probiotics on “Current level of consensus on probiotic science-Report of an expert meeting.” This report summarizes conclusions of a meeting held in London, 23 November 2009. Download report.

The Global Health Program on Infectious Diseases group within the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation convened an exploratory session January 22-26 in London UK to discuss evaluation of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of enteric and diarrheal diseases in children in developing countries. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the underlying science and potential directions forward. Nineteen scientists, including ISAPP’s President, Glenn Gibson, and Executive Director, Mary Ellen Sanders, were invited to meet with Foundation representatives to explore the risks and benefits of investment in this application for probiotics.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ 2010;340:c77) summarized an investigation into the Utrecht pancreatitis study (Lancet 2008, 371:651-9) by 3 agencies, the Dutch Healthcare Inspectorate, the Central Commission on Research Involving Human Participants, and the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. They concluded that the study procedures were flawed, especially as related to reporting of adverse events, but that there was no causal link between procedural flaws and higher number of deaths in the probiotic consumption group.

International Dairy Federation announces opening of 2010 Elie Metchnikoff Prize. This prize, co-sponsored by ISAPP, celebrates innovative ideas in the area of fermented milks. Information.

India to develop probiotic guidelines for foods by 2010.