November 3, 2010

European Food Safety Authority published a scientific report titled “Bibliographic review on the potential of microorganisms, microbial products and enzymes to induce respiratory sensitization.Report.

November 3, 2010

Danone Research launches probiotic research bulletin titled “Probiotic Watch,” which features summaries of newly published research and commentaries by acclaimed scientists, including 2 former ISAPP board members, Drs. Bruno Pot and James Versalovic.

November 3, 2010

The conclusions from the ILSI Europe Prebiotic Task Force has been published, “Prebiotic Effects: Metabolic and Health Benefits”. Dr. Marcel Roberfroid served
as lead author on this paper, which was published in the British Journal of Nutrition. Link to article.

November 3, 2010

Report from 2009 ISAPP meeting discussion group on mucosal immunity published
in Gut Microbes, authored by O’Flaherty, Saulnier, Pot and Versalovic.

November 3, 2010

ISAPP board member, Michael Cabana, MD, MPH, offered commentary in the Journal of Pediatrics [157(5):864-5; 2010] regarding interpretation of recent metaanalysis
(Pediatrics 2010;125:921-30) on use of probiotics in NEC. He questioned the value of aggregating different probiotic preparations into one metaanalysis and  emphasized that – contrary to the opinions expressed in the metaanalysis – that further research is needed to assess the effectiveness of specific probiotic strains for NEC.

November 3, 2010

The 4th year of the Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research sponsored by Danone Research and Yakult has been announced. The purpose of the two annual grants of $50,000 each is to contribute to the advancement of probiotics and gastrointestinal microbiota research in the United States, and to impact academic and career development of young investigators, attracting them into the field of probiotics and microbiota. Application deadline: February 15, 2011. Application procedures and additional details on the program can be found at www.probioticsresearch.com.

November 3, 2010

FASEB Summer Research Conference titled “Probiotics, Intestinal Microbiota and the Host: Physiological and Clinical Implications” will be held July 24-29, 2011, at Carefree Resort, Carefree, Arizona. Organizers: W. Allan Walker, MD, Harvard Medical School and Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, ISAPP Executive Director. Additional program details will be available December 2010 at www.faseb.org/src.

August 16, 2010

EFSA announces Stakeholder meeting to be held December 2, 2010 in Amsterdam. The topic will be scientific substantiation of health claims related to gut health and immune function. Registration on EFSA website in September 2010. Additional information from EFSA’s Dr. Juliane Kleiner juliane.kleiner@nullefsa.europa.eu.

June 18, 2010

Conference Considers Options for US Federal Regulation of Probiotics. On June 14, 2010, The University of Maryland School of Law hosted the first of a series of multidisciplinary meetings being held as part of a Human Microbiome Project ELSI (Ethical, Legal, Social Implications) grant to study federal regulation of probiotics. The project is headed by Diane E. Hoffmann, MS, JD, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Director, Law and Health Care Program, University of Maryland School of Law. Participants in the conference included members of academia and the scientific research, business, legal and federal regulatory communities, and included two ISAPP board members, Gregor Reid and Mary Ellen Sanders . This initial meeting focused on identifying key regulatory issues and achieving a broad-based understanding of the science relating to probiotics and the current federal regulatory framework for probiotics. Subsequent sessions will focus on attempting to find answers to these questions. The next meeting is being planned for January 2011. June 14 meeting agenda.

June 9, 2010

International Dairy Federation Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2010 winners announced in Tromsö, Norway. The IDF Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2010 was awarded in three categories Nutrition and Health, Biotechnology and Microbiology. Awardees included 2 ISAPP Board of Directors members, Prof. Todd R. Klaenhammer and Prof. Colin Hill. In addition, Dr. Irene Lenoir-Wijnkoop from Danone Research, who leant her support in the conceptualization and early implementation stages of ISAPP’s creation, received the Elie Metchnikoff Prize 2010 Award of Recognition. Details

June 3, 2010

ILSI Europe Functional Foods Task Force has issued a report “Beyond PASSCLAIM – Guidance to Substantiate Health Claims on Foods” from a meeting held 14-16 December 2009 in Nice, France.

Report

June 3, 2010

The 4-part lecture Webinar Series on Probiotics and Prebiotics, developed in collaboration with the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America, the American Gastroenterological Association and ISAPP, concluded on June 3, 2010. The 1-hour lectures will be archived at the GI Learn section of the AGA website.

May 17, 2010

Probiotic safety report of 2008 ISAPP discussion group “Assessment of probiotic safety for human use” has been published by Gut Microbes. Open access

May 17, 2010

NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine announces funding opportunities in the area of probiotics and prebiotics. Information

April 1, 2010

The American Society for Nutrition in partnership with the American Academy of Family Physicians will present a free webinar on nutrition and digestive health (July 14).
Information

March 31, 2010

At the 7th annual meeting of ISAPP this past November, a student/fellow association (SFA) of ISAPP was founded. Under the insightful leadership of Delphine Saulnier, the organization has approved a constitution and started a website and Facebook page and proposed many additional activities. See http://www.isapp-sfa.com/ for information.

March 25, 2010

New book edited by Åsa Ljungh and Torkel Wadström titled Lactobacillus Molecular Biology: From Genomics to Probiotics is now available from Caister Academic Press. Reviews and contents.

February 18, 2010

Third India Probiotics Symposium: “Probiotic Foods in Health and Disease”, held November 21-22, 2009, in New Delhi, featuring keynote address by ISAPP Past President,
Gregor Reid. Webcast

February 15, 2010

A report was issued by 9 European scientific experts in the field of probiotics on “Current level of consensus on probiotic science-Report of an expert meeting.” This report summarizes conclusions of a meeting held in London, 23 November 2009. Download report.

January 30, 2010

The Global Health Program on Infectious Diseases group within the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation convened an exploratory session January 22-26 in London UK to discuss evaluation of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of enteric and diarrheal diseases in children in developing countries. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the underlying science and potential directions forward. Nineteen scientists, including ISAPP’s President, Glenn Gibson, and Executive Director, Mary Ellen Sanders, were invited to meet with Foundation representatives to explore the risks and benefits of investment in this application for probiotics.

January 12, 2010

The British Medical Journal (BMJ 2010;340:c77) summarized an investigation into the Utrecht pancreatitis study (Lancet 2008, 371:651-9) by 3 agencies, the Dutch Healthcare Inspectorate, the Central Commission on Research Involving Human Participants, and the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. They concluded that the study procedures were flawed, especially as related to reporting of adverse events, but that there was no causal link between procedural flaws and higher number of deaths in the probiotic consumption group.

December 30, 2009

International Dairy Federation announces opening of 2010 Elie Metchnikoff Prize. This prize, co-sponsored by ISAPP, celebrates innovative ideas in the area of fermented milks. Information.