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News
Developments in the Field of Probiotics and Prebiotics
10.2.2009 Systematic review of probiotic safety commissioned by several US agencies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) are co-sponsoring a systematic review of probiotic safety, Safety of Probiotics Used to Reduce Risk and Prevent or Treat Disease. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. Review protocol synopsis.
10.1.2009 Dr. Gregor Reid, ISAPP President, Director of the Canadian Research & Development Centre for Probiotics, and Assistant Director at Lawson Health Research Institute was inducted to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) in recognition of achievement in academic health sciences in Canada. Announcement.
9.15.2009 No link between probiotics and obesity: ISAPP responds to Nature Reviews Microbiology letter by Raoult.
8.24.2009 A new journal, Functional Foods Reviews, publishes 3 open-access, probiotic reviews. Sanders (Probiotic definition). Walker (Intestinal host defense). Shanahan et al (Pharmabiotics).
8.5.2009 The American Academy of Physicians Assistants launched a webcast from a symposium "The Health Benefits of Probiotics" that was presented at their annual meeting in May 2009. Webcast.
7.13.2009 Canadian Microbiome Initiative. The CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity is pleased to announce the launch of the Emerging Team Grant: Canadian Microbiome Initiative (CMI). This initiative will provide an opportunity for multidisciplinary teams of Canadian researchers to analyze and characterize the microbes that colonize the human body. www.researchnet-recherchenet.ca/rnr16/vwOpprtntyDtls.do?prog=793&tag=1
5.26.2009 ISAPP Board of Directors member, Dr. Todd Klaenhammer, received the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ highest faculty honor on May 8. The Board of Governors of the multi-campus University of North Carolina honored Dr. Klaenhammer with the O. Max Gardner Award, which since 1949 honors faculty who have "made the greatest contributions to the welfare of the human race." Press release. 10-min video/podcast.
5.25.2009 ISAPP’s president, Dr. Gregor Reid, named as inaugural chair in Human Microbiology and Probiotics at Lawson Health Research Institute, made possible by a $7 million investment by Danone Research. Press release.
5.20.2009 Health Canada prepares monograph on probiotics as a guide to industry for natural health product market authorization of probiotic products. Download monograph.
4.30.2009 Norwegian Food Safety Authority recommends against use of probiotics in critically ill patients. Download opinion.
4.28.2009 ISAPP President, Gregor Reid, on "Research on Probiotics: A Well of Untapped Resources in Russia," published in International Science and Technology Center newsletter.
4.27.2009 Health Canada Food Directorate issues "Guidance Document - The Use of Probiotic Microorganisms in Food" along with along with a "Notice to Stakeholders." Referring to foods containing probiotics, these documents indicate that Health Canada will allow certain generic claims that do not require strain- or product-specific substantiation.
- ISAPP holds 6th Annual meeting November 9-11, 2008. 100 delegates from 17 countries met in London Ontario, Canada to hear lectures and to discuss probiotic safety, refinement of the prebiotic concept in light of new scientific developments, probiotic/prebiotic/synbiotic efficacy, improving successful interactions between scientists and the media and regulatory hurdles to conducting probiotic research in the USA. Handouts.
- A brochure "Probiotics: What they are and what they can do for you" from the American Gastroenterology Association is now available. Brochure.
- The World Gastroenterology Organization publishes "Practice Guideline: Probiotics and Prebiotics." Click here.
- A booklet titled "Pediatrician’s and Gastroenterologist’s Guide to Using Probiotics" written by Jon Vanderhoof, M.D. and Eamonn Quigley, M.D. was published by Health Point Press. For information, email: Booktalk@sbcglobal.net
- Physiological and Functional Properties of Probiotics published as a bulletin of the International Dairy Federation, authored by Mercenier, Wijnkoop-Lenoir and Sanders (2008). Reprint.
- “Probiotics: Their Impact on Human Health” issue paper coauthored by Sanders, Gibson, Gill and Guarner and published by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology is now available free of charge. Click here.
- The Executive Summary of the National Institutes of Health conference on Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Advances in Prebiotic and Probiotic Research held December 11-12, 2007 can be viewed at http://www.dnrc.nih.gov/highlights/gmappr.shtml.
- ILSI convenes prebiotic and probiotic task forces. The mission of the Probiotics Task Force is to assess the physiological efficacy of probiotics to guide the scientific substantiation of health claims on probiotics. The mission of the Prebiotics Task Force is to provide the basis for assessment of the physiological efficacy of prebiotics.
- On March 28, 2008 the International Probiotics Association announced its intent to offer a quality seal for probiotic products that meet its standards for content and substantiation of health benefits; the seal will be available on products in 6-8 months.
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?
n=84289-international-probiotics-association-probiotics
- EU regulatory update for health claims on foods and supplements. Press release. Full opinion of European scientific panel. Summary of opinion. Click here to go to the EFSA website.
- Publication of paper reporting increased mortality in study of six-strain blend of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium on infectious complications in patients with severe pancreatitis. ISAPP reacts. Earlier ISAPP response to the pre-publication press release can be found here.
- Dannon and Yakult announce a new Young Investigator Grant Program. Two awards of $50,000 will be granted to young investigators for original research in the area of gut microbiota and health. See www.probioticsresearch.com.
- Proceedings published: Twenty-two papers delivered at the 2006 conference held in Maryland titled “Developing Probiotics as Food and Drugs: Scientific and Regulatory Challenges” sponsored by Drug Information Association (www.diahome.org), ISAPP and others have been published as a supplement to Clinical Infectious Diseases (February 1, Volume 46, Supplement 2, 2008).
- Free webinar on "Probiotics and their Role in Gut Health" sponsored by "Natural Products Insider." Robert Hutkins, Ph.D., Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska will present. To register, click here
- ISAPP President Dr. Gregor Reid is awarded an honorary doctorate in biology from Örebro University in Sweden, February 2008. Press release
- FAO publishes technical report on prebiotics addressing definitions, substantiation and characterization issues (January 29, 2008). Report
- Human Microbiome Project was added to the US National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research, with the aim of generating resources enabling comprehensive characterization of the human microbiota and analysis of its role in human health and disease. http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp/
- Market report which analyzes the worldwide probiotic markets prepared by Global Industry Analysts Inc for sale (March 2008). Report
- ISAPP report on the status of the field as it pertains to safety evaluation and interpretation of antibiotic resistance phenotypes and genotypes present in probiotics. Report from meeting held December 13, 2007.
- Qualified Presumption of Safety: The European Food Safety Authority just issued report describing an opinion on the QPS approach to safety of microorganisms used in foods. "Introduction of a Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) approach for assessment of selected microorganisms referred to EFSA - Opinion of the Scientific Committee." See: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-
1178620753812_1178667590178.htm
- Probiotics Market Report: "Strategic Analysis of the North American Probiotics Markets: Human Nutrition" (Executive Summary).
- Announcing the publication of an issue paper sponsored by CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, www.cast-science.org) which comprehensively covers the field of probiotics. Authored by four members of the ISAPP board of directors (Drs. Sanders, Gibson, Gill and Guarner), this paper was written with a lay audience as at target. Announcement.
Click here to download this article for free.
- A conference was sponsored by the NIH on probiotics and prebiotics on December 11-12, 2007. Conference title: Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Advances in Prebiotics and Probiotics Research, Sponsored by the Division of Nutrition Research Coordination of the National Institutes of Health on behalf of the Prebiotic and Probiotic Working Group, Rockville, Maryland. Session summaries should be available soon. Questions, contact Maria Smith msmith@scgcorp.com 301-670-4990, The Scientific Consulting Group Inc.
- ISAPP President Dr. Gregor Reid was a guest speaker at the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences on October 3rd, 2007. There was much interest in the activities of ISAPP and a request that the Ukrainians form a link with the organization. Click here for a photo of Dr. Reid with Academy of Sciences Member and highly regarded probiotic researchers, Professor Kovalenko.
- ISAPP President Gregor Reid’s Global Impact
- ISAPP’s President, Gregor Reid, receives award for his role in efforts to bring probiotic yogurt to Africa.
Download the press release
- Report of the 2nd International Workshop in Amsterdam, April 26-28, 2007.
"Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease"
- A Probiotic Council within the National Yogurt Association (www.aboutyogurt.com) has been established. This council is intended to be the voice of industry as it relates to standards and regulatory issues for probiotics, at least as they related to dairy foods. This is an important development because it leverages the significant resources and expertise in regulatory affairs of the NYA trade association to promote appropriate standards for probiotics in the US. Press release.
- FDA final ruling on current Good Manufacturing Practices for dietary supplements. Under the final rule, manufacturers are required to evaluate the identity, purity, strength, and composition of their dietary supplements. If dietary supplements contain contaminants or do not contain the dietary ingredient they are represented to contain, FDA would consider those products to be adulterated or misbranded. This ruling addresses a pressing need in the probiotic industry with regard to products being mislabeled as to what microbes are present and their presence at labeled levels. See this ruling at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/07-3039.htm and a summary at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/
GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/RegulationsLaws/
ucm079496.htm#GMPS.
- A non-commercial, educational DVD produced by ISAPP President Dr. Gregor Reid and Danone (Paris, France) which illustrates how probiotics function in vivo is available now in 12 languages. See press release
- New format for successful probiotic-focused newsletter by the Syndifrais
After six years of publication the scientific newsletter "Yoghurts and Fermented Milks", Syndifrais (French national union of fresh milk products manufacturers) has announced an updated format and a new title for the newsletter, "Probiotics Reference". (See launch edition.) The newsletter is a science survey newsletter on the health benefits of fresh milk products. It is published quarterly, in French and English, and is intended for all scientists working in the probiotics field. Every quarter, the most recent scientific articles in the field of probiotic bacteria are taken from the international databases. The science committee makes a selection of the most pertinent, informative and reliable studies from an average of some hundred publications collected for each issue of the newsletter. Through Probiotics Reference, the Syndifrais science committee will pursue its goal of providing a range of scientific, clinical and regulatory information useful to fresh milk products manufacturers and to anyone who wishes to understand trends in the rapidly evolving world of probiotics. All these newsletter can be downloaded from www.usprobiotics.org under "Links".
- Two consumer friendly books on probiotics published. The Power of Probiotics, by Gary Elmer, Lynne McFarland and Marc McFarland, published by Haworth Press (www.haworthpress.com). This is a consumer’s guide to probiotics, but also discusses much of the data showing efficacy in human studies, so it is a good resource probiotics researchers as well. Also out in 2007 is The Probiotics Revolution by Gary Huffnagle (Bantam Dell Publishing Group).
- IDF Elie Metchnikoff Prize: An initiative by the International Dairy Federation and its partners to celebrate scientific discovery. The IDF Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2007 recognizes outstanding scientific discoveries in the fields of microbiology, biotechnology, nutrition and health with regard to fermented milks. Applications due January 31, 2007.
See www.emetchnikoff.fil-idf-pr.com for details.
- Front Page Probiotics: Probiotics on front page of New York Times, Monday, January 22, 2007, "In Live Bacteria, Food Makers See New Bonanza" by Andrew Martin.
www.nytimes.com
- The European Food Safety Authority invites public comment on the Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) approach for the safety assessment of microorganisms deliberately added to food and feed:
Click here for more info
- The American Academy of Microbiology released a report "Probiotic Microbes: The Scientific Basis" June 7, 2006. The report is the outcome of a colloquium convened by the American Academy of Microbiology in November 2005 to discuss the current state of knowledge regarding probiotics.
Download report
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), an NIH funding agency, forms Product Quality Working Group to assess quality of natural substances, including probiotics and prebiotics, that are subjects of research.
NCCAM streamlines quality aspect of funding review
AHPA's Dentali Helps Raise the Bar on NCCAM Research
- Consumer Reports on probiotics:
ISAPP responds
- 2001 FAO Report: Probiotics in food health and nutritional properties and guidelines for evaluation
Download report
- New journal: International Journal of Probiotics and Prebiotics www.newcenturyhealthpublishers.com/probiotics_and_prebiotics/
index.php
- Probiotics and Prebiotics: Scientific Aspects, 2005. Edited by Gerald W. Tannock University of Otago, Dunedin , New Zealand (Caister Academic Press). Chapters include: Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology (Erwin G. Zoetendal and Roderick I. Mackie), Taxonomy of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria (Franco Dellaglio and Giovanna E. Felis), The Microecology of Lactobacilli in the Gastrointestinal Tract (Jens Walter), Exopolysaccharide Production by Intestinal Lactobacilli (Michael G. Gänzle and Clarissa Schwab), Beyond Genome Sequences: Approaches to Genome-wide Analysis of Gut Bacteria (Makda Fisseha and Fabrizio Arigoni), Molecular Interactions of Commensal Enteric Bacteria with the Intestinal Epithelium and the Mucosal Immune System: Implications for Chronic Intestinal Inflammation (Dirk Haller), Genetically Modified Probiotics (Lothar Steidler and Sabine Neirynck), Bacterial Therapeutics for the Treatment and Prevention of Urogenital Infections (Thomas P. Parks, Qiang Xu, Laurel A. Lagenaur and Peter P. Lee), Prebiotics and the Infant Microbiota (L.C. Roger and A.L. McCartney), The Tangled Bank and Gut Microbial Ecology (Gerald W. Tannock).
www.horizonpress.com/hsp/books/pro3.html
- Effects of probiotics and prebiotics on flora and immunity in adults. Report by AFSSA (Agence Francaise de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments or in English, French Food Safety Agency), February 2005, in both English (p. 59) and French.
Download report
- Infant foods and modification on the intestinal flora, Report by AFSSA (Agence Francaise de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments or in English, French Food Safety Agency), June 2003, in both English (p. 39) and French.
Download report
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Our Mission
To engender and disseminate information on high quality, multidisciplinary, scientific investigation in the fields of probiotics and prebiotics, and to advance the development of scientifically substantiated, health-promoting probiotic and prebiotic products worldwide.
Photos courtesy of Prof. Lorenzo Morelli, Instituto di Microbiologia, Piacenza, Italy
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