CL Tests Find Some Probiotics Lacking

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.New data from  ConsumerLab.com suggests some probiotics supplements do not contain the advertised amount of bacteria. Out of 19 supplements tested, five contained between 16 and 56 percent of the listed probiotic amounts, according to the independent testing lab's newest report.

"Consumers who don't do their homework with probiotics might not get what they want or think they're paying for," says Tod Cooperman, M.D., president of ConsumerLab.com. "Not every product has what it claims and even those that do may not have the right type and amount of organisms for a specific condition."

Probiotics use is on the rise; a ConsumerLab.com survey of more than 10,000 supplement users found 37.3 percent of women and 30.5 percent of men used probiotics. In the products tested, the quantity of organisms ranged from one hundred million to more than 900 billion in a daily dose, including more than 30 different strains.

Cooperman said many products had label footnotes that qualified organism amounts "At time of manufacture," but he noted, "Supplement companies must not only be accountable for what they claim on their labels but need to make sure their products are properly transported and stored all the way to the consumer."

Learn more about the manufacturing challenges of probiotics in the INSIDER article, "Digestion Products Sales Fueled by Precise Formulation."