Draft standards for probiotics

Probiotics are finding their way into a wide variety of food products as a result of consumer interest and manufacturing innovations.

In response to the increase in probiotic food ingredients, the forthcoming Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) will include draft standards intended to ensure quality in these ingredients. The latest FCC Forum will contain the proposed standards, which are available for public review and comment.

The standards include quality specifications such as identification and enumeration (microbe count), as well as intended uses in food, safety, regulatory status and purity of probiotics and other microbial food cultures. They also offer information on probiotics, including testing to assess product safety and health claims of probiotic ingredients.

The FCC Forum is a free-access online vehicle through which proposed FCC standards are published for public review and comment. It is published by the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP).

Many different strains of microorganisms are used in food products, and testing of the health benefits associated with these products is based on specific strains. Therefore, health claims rely heavily on microorganism identification, as manufacturers must be able to confirm that their probiotic ingredient is in fact effective.

“With more manufacturers incorporating probiotics in products beyond yoghurts based on rising consumer interest, scrutiny of health claims will grow, as will global sourcing of ingredients,” said Praveen Tyle, USP’s Chief Science Officer. “We believe additional measures for determining identity and overall quality will be useful in protecting consumers and manufacturers alike.”

The FCC Forum will also include other proposed standards for public review and comment. These will address steviol glycosides, benzoates, infant formula and flavouring ingredients.

The FCC forum can be accessed through the USP website.