ISAPP is a global scientific community
ISAPP is the only organization dedicated specifically to advancing the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods.
Photo by benvandenbroecke.be | Copyright, ISAPP 2019
We are an international non-profit organization, founded in 2002, that has shifted the paradigm on how biotics are studied and understood.
The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics – called ISAPP (“eye-sapp”) – is a vibrant non-profit organization led by a scientific board of directors with input from its industry advisory committee. ISAPP activities bring together leading global scientists from a wide range of disciplines — including food science, microbiology, immunology, biochemistry and human and animal nutrition — to advance the science and grow knowledge in the field.
ISAPP puts the science first, with activities that contribute to the overall development of the field and the harmonization of scientific efforts. The work of ISAPP ranges from scientific publications and meetings, to consumer-focused resources and media.
Our mission
Advancing scientific excellence in probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods
ISAPP drives progress in three important ways:
ISAPP is governed by an academic Board of Directors, comprising leading scientists and clinician-researchers in the field of biotics
Members of the ISAPP Board of Directors, July 2025, Banff, Canada
Activities
ISAPP works in numerous ways to advance the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. At our scientific meetings, scientists from academia and industry discuss important issues in the field and actively collaborate on publications and other projects. We spread the word on the latest science by creating educational resources tailored to different audiences. Our community also supports students and early career researchers through the Students and Fellows Association. Our annual reports detail the full scope of ISAPP activities.
Impact
ISAPP’s influence extends to the scientific community and beyond
97
Scientific publications
23
Years of scientific leadership
14
Prominent scientists currently steering ISAPP activities
22,000
Engaged followers in the ISAPP community
History
ISAPP was founded in 2002 to meet the need for leading scientists from academia and industry to work together to advance the field of probiotics and prebiotics. Since then, ISAPP has grown into the world’s leading organization for scientific networking and innovation in the field, and has expanded its scope to include synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods.
“We need a way to facilitate the gathering of the different scientists working in the probiotic and prebiotic fields.”
This was what Prof. Glenn Gibson and Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders realized with certainty in New York in 1999 when they met up to discuss scientific progress in the field of probiotics and prebiotics. Few conferences on probiotics or prebiotics were being held anywhere in the world, despite rapid growth of the research. Prof. Gibson and Dr. Sanders saw developments in the specialized areas of microbiology, food science, biotechnology, microbial genetics, gastroenterology, pediatrics, and biochemistry, to name a few – and thought that networking among these scientists would surely advance the field.
At the 2000 Fermented Foods and Health meeting in New York, Gibson and Sanders presented a group of academic and industry scientific colleagues with the idea of a multidisciplinary scientific organization dedicated to advancing the field of probiotics and prebiotics. The idea was met with enthusiastic support, and the group envisioned that the organization would provide a core group of dedicated scientific experts so that emerging issues, whether scientific or regulatory or marketplace issues, could be rapidly addressed through the ISAPP network.
Read More
ISAPP was incorporated as a non-profit public service organization in February 2002 with an all-academic board of directors, and with funding and logistical support from industry scientists. Prof. Gregor Reid hosted the organization’s inaugural global meeting in London, Ontario, Canada, May 3-5, 2002. The meeting came at a pivotal time for probiotics, since the FAO/WHO working group met on May 2 to write the landmark “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Probiotics in Food”, one year after the now-globally-recognized definition for the word “probiotic” was proposed.
Sanders served as founding president of ISAPP until 2006. Prof. Gibson is a founding board member who serves on the board to this day. The organization founded and funded the ISAPP Students and Fellows Association in 2010, in order to welcome the next generation of probiotic and prebiotic scientists into the ISAPP community. As the organization has evolved, it has also recognized the urgent need for strong, science-based communications for consumers and healthcare providers; the organization invests in creating these materials in order to reach broader audiences and promote scientific thinking about probiotics and prebiotics.
ISAPP remains unique in the world: because it is driven by academic scientists, ISAPP’s activities have always been for the benefit of the field as a whole. ISAPP serves all of its members by maintaining a degree of separation from industry; while industry members support ISAPP’s activities, the academic board directs them.
-
I come to praise ISAPP, not to bury it: Reflections on 15 years as a board member
By Prof. Colin Hill PhD, University College Cork I have been a Board member of ISAPP since 2009, serving as…
-
Episode 24: Reflections on the probiotic field and ISAPP’s role
In this episode, the ISAPP podcast hosts talk about how the probiotic field has evolved over the past 20 years with Dr. Mary Ellen Sanders… -
Episode 13: The history of ISAPP
The Science, Microbes & Health Podcast This podcast covers emerging topics and challenges in the science of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics and fermented foods. This…
