probiotics bottle

Ever evolving microbial friends – new microbes that could impact health

May 2017. By Prof. Seppo Salminen, Director of the Functional Foods Forum, University of Turku. Bacteria have been part of our life and part of human nutrition since ancient times. Microbes have a variety of essential roles in fermentations and other production processes, as reviewed by Marco et al (2017). Generally, the bacteria used in fermented foods […]

infographic on effects of probiotics and prebiotics on microbiota

ISAPP Publishes two new infographics

May 10, 2017. ISAPP publishes two new infographics: “Effects Of Probiotics And Prebiotics On Our Microbiota” and “The Gut Microbiota: Our Microbial Partners”. Check them out for consumer-friendly information on basic facts about our gut microbiota and the interplay with probiotics, prebiotics and colonizing microbiota.  See all ISAPP infographics here.

World Gastroenterology Association

WGO updates Guidelines on Probiotics and Prebiotics

April 18, 2017. – The World Gastroenterology Organisation published a 2017 update of Practice Guideline on Probiotics and Prebiotics. Currently, the updated version is only available in English, but the 2011 version is still available in French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Note especially updated Tables 8 and 9, which list strains associated with graded evidence for […]

women & their microbes conference

Conference: Women & their Microbes

April  19, 2017. Announcing an innovative conference, Women & their Microbes. Latest research on the female oral microbiome, the role of the skin microbiome in women’s health, the impact of pregnancy stress on the microbiome, and the vaginal microbiota will be presented. Friday, June 2, Amsterdam. Register.

fermented foods

That bacteria in your food — It may not be so bad

April 2017. By Chris Cifelli, PhD, VP of Nutrition Research, National Dairy Council, Rosemont, IL. Bacteria and food. For most people, those two words never belong in the same sentence and, when they do appear together, immediately conjure thoughts of contamination, spoilage, food poisoning, and worse. It is true that unwanted microbes can ruin good food […]

How to decipher european probiotic labels

New ISAPP infographic on EU probiotic labeling

March 20, 2017. Probiotic Product Labels in the European Union Understanding the information that is – and isn’t – on a probiotic product label can be difficult. ISAPP created an infographic to help understand the information on the label of a dietary supplement probiotic product.  Different regions around the world have different regulatory labeling requirements […]

expert panel icon

Executive Science Officer, Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, Appointed to Expert Panel

March 20, 2017. ISAPP’s Executive Science Officer, Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, was appointed chair of the United States Pharmacopeia’s Probiotics Expert Panel. The goal of this panel is to assist in developing quality standards for probiotics used for dietary supplements. The efforts of this panel are intended to pave the way for probiotic manufacturers to […]

happy and sad microbiota

You Have the Microbiota You Deserve!

March 2017. By Colin Hill, PhD, APC Microbiome Institute, School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Ireland Your microbiota has been selected stochastically from all of the microbes you have encountered during your life, from or perhaps even before your birth. It has also been modified by a number of variables, including your genome, your birth […]

caution sign with picture of antibiotics

Antibiotics: Use with Caution

February 2017. By Karen Scott, PhD, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Since the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928, antibiotics have saved millions of lives, and have rightly been described as wonder drugs. Yet since the late 1990s we have become increasingly aware that bacterial resistance to […]

image of FDA comments

ISAPP posts comments with the FDA on Dietary Supplements

December 9, 2016. ISAPP posts comments with the FDA on Dietary Supplements: New Dietary Ingredient Notifications and Related Issues: Guidance for Industry. Comments discussed: Exclusion of novel substances as dietary ingredients Identity of a live microbial ingredient Chemical alteration Assessment of antibiotic resistance gene transfer History of safe use Strain- vs. species-specific information Requirements for […]