More than 150 executives attended the SupplySide West post-conference workshop on probiotics, developed with the International Probiotics Association (IPA). Titled “IPA Probiotic Update: Insights and Perspectives from the Physician, Regulator and Market Analyst,” the workshop addressed market trends and opportunities, the observations and concerns of a top physician, and the regulatory issues unique to the category.

The first speaker was Ewa Hudson, who manages research within the global health and wellness industry for Euromonitor International. She gave a global overview of market trends, sales, product introductions, and strategies within the digestive health and probiotics sectors.

Next, David Mack, M.D., professor at the University of Ottawa and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition within the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, discussed clinical uses of probiotics, challenges in understanding the role of probiotics in therapeutic strategies, and the potential for health concerns with the medical use of these products.

The final speaker was Anthony Young, Esq., partner with Kleinfeld, Kaplan and Becker and general counsel to the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). Young covered the regulatory position of probiotics, including the important differences between therapeutic use as biologic drugs, use as either approved food additives or GRAS food ingredients, and potential ways to bring new probiotics to market considering FDA’s position that these substances are not among the enumerated categories of dietary ingredients defined in the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA).

The workshop was developed in conjunction with IPA, and sponsored by CHR Hansen, Danisco, Institut Rosell Lallemand, Morinaga, Nutraceutix, and Wakunaga of America.