Dairy Food as a Probiotic Delivery Vehicle

The saying goes, “The journey is as important as the destination.” When it comes to delivering on product probiotic claims, having the right vehicle can make or break that journey. Dairy is an extremely effective vehicle in which to deliver probiotics to the human body. Due to their refrigerated storage and timely consumption, dairy foods provide an edge in sustaining and delivering probiotic bacteria to the gut in sufficient numbers. Without the probiotic surviving the journey, probiotic benefit claims are just an empty promise.

Consumer Interest Rising

According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, an estimated 60 million to 70 million Americans live with digestive disorders. While research continues to emerge regarding the potential benefits of various probiotic strains on digestive diseases, consumers are discovering probiotic-enhanced products for their digestive and immune health.

Dairy continues to lead the way in new entries into the probiotic market. The probiotic spoonable yogurt market in the United States went from $112 million in 2001 to $294 million in 2006, according to Euromonitor International. And Mintel’s Global New Products Database reported between 2004 and 2006, U.S. beverage manufacturers introduced 528 new yogurt and probiotic drink products, clearly responding to strong consumer demand.

The most widely accepted definition of probiotics was prepared in 2001 during a joint conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and World Health Organization (WHO): “Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when consumed in sufficient amounts, provide health benefits to the host.” Thus, to be considered a probiotic, the good bacteria must be alive when it reaches its target in the intestine.

Dairy may aid in the probiotic’s viability by protecting it from stomach acid and bile secreted during digestion, potentially enhancing the bacteria’s survival upon arrival in the intestine. The idea that dairy and probiotics go together dates back a century to a Nobel Prize-winning Russian naturopathic scientist named Eli Metchnikoff. An early expert in immunology, Metchnikoff proposed consuming a fermented milk product could contribute to a healthy digestive tract. Interested in the longevity of the Balkan people, he discovered the hearty peasants of the region subsisted mostly on a special milk food, which contained lactic acid-producing microorganisms.

Today, research funded by Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI) is investigating the ability of dairy to effectively deliver probiotics by determining how dairy delivery affects the expression of important traits or characteristics required for the survival and/or activity of the “good bacteria.”

Investigating Dairy Delivery

Research now in progress will find ways to help good bacteria in probiotic products survive intestinal passage. Anything that can enhance bacterial survival or give it an advantage in passage through the human intestine is crucial to probiotic viability. Ongoing research will determine whether dairy delivery will turn on certain genes and give the probiotic a better chance of surviving and, ultimately, a marketing edge for manufacturers in their probiotic-enhanced product.

Genomic research funded through the National Dairy Council is providing a better understanding of the positive relationship between dairy products and probiotics. Studies aimed at unraveling the genetic code of probiotics may help clarify how these organisms benefit health and why delivery by dairy enhances their activity. Ultimately, comparisons of probiotic bacteria strains on the basis of genetic content may help answer industry-related questions about how to pick the right strains for specific purposes and products.

Additional studies are underway to determine whether specific milk components can enhance the survival of a probiotic. For instance, research has shown lactose is a preferred fuel source for Bifidobacterium longum, which has been shown to aid in digestion. There may be some noteworthy traits in Lactobacillus as well.

Cheese shows enormous potential to trigger beneficial genes in the probiotic cultures, enhancing survival and growth, thereby allowing them to confer their health benefits on the host. Kraft® LiveActive™ snacking cheese products are examples of probiotic-enhanced products promoting digestive health. Introduced in early 2007, the products boast more than one billion probiotic cultures per serving.

Yogurt continues to be a popular vehicle for delivering probiotics. According to Packaged Facts, the U.S. market for yogurt and yogurt drinks was $9.7 billion in 2005, and is expected to hit $15 billion by 2010. Consider the success of Activia®, Dannon’s probiotic-enhanced yogurt; introduced in 2006, the spoonable yogurt achieved more than $1 billion in sales in its first year alone.

Making, Meeting Label Claims

Probiotic food and beverage product claims increased 141 percent in 2007 versus 2006, and in the last four years, have grown 1,466 percent, according to ACNielsen. However, there are several considerations to take into account before making label claims.

To make label claims, processors and manufacturers need to be sure testing methods provide sufficient information on probiotic levels throughout shelf life. Manufacturers interested in adding probiotics into functional foods and beverages should consider the type of claim they want to make for their product and the support for the claim based on guidance provided by FDA. Will the probiotic support immunity or help maintain a normal digestive tract?

Finding the specific probiotic strain to support the claim will depend on supportive human clinical research, including the amount of the probiotic consumed by study participants. Not all probiotics have the same effect and no probiotic can do everything. When obtaining probiotics from culture suppliers, it is important to secure documentation of the bacteria’s type (genus, species and strain), potency and purity, as well as any published and unpublished nutrition research on the strain.

Also, determine at what point in the manufacturing process to introduce the probiotic into the product to maximize its viability. How well will a certain strain tolerate acid, shear force and varying oxygen levels? Would additional ingredients enhance bacteria viability, such as a prebiotic/probiotic combination? The manufacturer may conduct additional human clinical research to verify viability of the probiotic bacteria through the digestive tract.

Into the Future

To date, several different strains of bacteria have been shown to deliver a health benefit. In the future, research could potentially identify thousands of bacteria strains that deliver a variety of health benefits.

Currently, it is impossible to make a general statement about a minimum amount of probiotics required for a given effect since the amount of “good bacteria” can vary from strain to strain and for the specific health outcome being examined. Todd Klaenhammer, director of Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center at North Carolina State University, suggested manufacturers ensure millions of bacteria per gram survive from shelf to intestine.

Using dairy to deliver probiotics can help the good bacteria remain viable for the consumer. In the highly competitive health food and beverage industry, delivering on a promise is the best way to keep consumers coming back.

Christopher J. Cifelli, Ph.D., is a director of nutrition research at the National Dairy Council®, which is managed by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), and Raj G. Narasimmon, Ph.D., is the vice president of product research with DMI (DairyInfo.com). On behalf of U.S. dairy farmers, DMI’s purpose is to drive increased sales of and demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients.