Future Development of Probiotic Dairy Products

Two factors have had a major impact on the probiotic area in the European Union (EU): diminishing public funding for probiotic research and the failure of probiotics in obtaining any approved health claims. Although the situation on the probiotic research front has been challenging due to health claim issues and declining EU financing, the probiotic market is still growing and probiotic food products are becoming increasingly diverse. A wide range of probiotic dairy products is available in different markets. To date, mainly certain robust lactobacilli and bifidobacterial strains have been used as probiotics; however, as a result of gut microbiota research, there is increasing interest in using other bacteria recently recognised to be important for human health. One study identified the main barriers in the probiotic innovation process. Overcoming the innovation barriers would require increasing co-operation and communication between industry, academia and regulatory bodies, as well as increasing scientific research efforts.