New association promotes benefits of probiotics in EU

This follows the launch on September 30 of IPA Europe, the European branch of the International Probiotics Association (IPA), at which there was a debate between scientists and representatives of the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Nutrition and science consultant Dr Julian Stowell, who works primarily for Dupont and is an expert on probiotics, said: “There was a very positive debate about how we can move forward. This is very much on-going.​

Combined forces ​

“We have combined the forces of the IPA, the Global Alliance for Probiotics [GAP] and the Yoghurt & Live Fermented Milks Association ​[YLFA] so we are all speaking with one voice.”​

He said that to establish health claims the process needed to be tailored to the entity being evaluated. He added: “The present regime is not flexible enough to evaluate something as complicated as living organisms.”

Guidance ​

He said it was likely to be a gradual process and the next step could be EFSA’s response to a consultation it ran earlier this year, on the draft update of its guidance for health claims related to gut and immune function.

The response is expected to be published before the end of the year.