Lallemand Human Nutrition, in partnership with the American Gastroenterological Association, announced a new edition of the "Probiotic Challenge," a competition for students working on probiotic research. If selected by the AGA and a team of judges, winners can present their study at DDW2013 and win cash prizes. Detailed information.

National Public Radio interview with John Cryan, professor at University College Cork in Ireland, on study published in PNAS showing that Lactobacillus rhamnosus JB-1 reduced anxiety and depression-like behaviors in stressed mice.

Probiotic industry members, Valio, Danone, Yakult, Chr Hansen, DuPont-Danisco, Probi and Lallemand formed the Global Alliance for Probiotics (GAP) to collaborate on defining a path forward for health claims for probiotics in the European Union. Read Nutraingredients article.

The Institute of Medicine held a workshop February 22-23, 2012 on The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health. Slides from this forum will be posted March 2 and a written summary of conclusions will be published.

FDA’s Center for Biologic Evaluation and Research (CBER) issued a finalized guidance for industry on when an Investigational New Drug (IND) application is required for human research on live biotherapuetic agents. The draft guidance on a similar topic issued by CBER and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) October 2010 has not been finalized. This final guidance acknowledges that live microbes (probiotics) intended for use as foods or dietary supplements can be investigated with human studies without an IND. The new guidance falls short of acknowledging an IND-free research path for human studies on medical foods, foods for special dietary uses or to research a food Health Claim. Foods or dietary supplements being studied for drug purposes (cure, mitigate, treat, diagnose, or prevent disease) will require an IND.

The Dannon Company announces the Dannon Probiotics Fellow Program to support the education of a student who excels in science and shows a strong interest in probiotics studies. The winner receives a scholarship equivalent to one year's tuition (up to $25,000, payable to the educational institution) and an all-expense paid trip to the Danone Research Center in France. Application deadline is March 31, 2012. Information.

U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP, a standards-setting organization since 1820) recently announced publication of a monograph, "Microbial Food Cultures Including Probiotics," in Food Chemical Codex. General considerations for identification and enumeration, intended use in food, safety, regulatory status, and purity are discussed.

The Global Probiotics Council has announced the fifth year of the Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research. 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, 2012. Application procedures and additional details on the program can be found at www.probioticsresearch.com.

ISAPP submits comments to the FDA on the draft guidance on new dietary ingredient notifications. ISAPP comments are grounded in the overall principle that NDIN requirements should have a reasonable potential to add to the overall understanding of safety (or to the existing data base with respect to a risk) and, if that potential is very low, we recommend that FDA endorse the use of discretion to conclude that additional testing is unnecessary.

The World Gastroenterology Organisation has updated its 2008 practice guideline for probiotics and prebiotics. Of special interest are the updated Tables 8 and 9, which summarize the probiotic or prebiotic, dose and grading of evidence for a number of GI clinical conditions for which there is evidence. The table is global in focus, and the document – available now in English – will be available in other languages soon. WGO Practice Guideline - Probiotics and Prebiotics – 2011.

New book written for the generalist covers fundamental microbiological concepts of bacterial evolution and behavior and provides perspective on their constructive and destructive activities. Bacteria. The Benign, the Bad, and the Beautiful, by Trudy Wassenaar is now available from Wiley-Blackwell.

2011 update of Inventory of Microbial Food Cultures considered safe for use in foods. An International Dairy Federation (IDF) taskforce has updated a 2002 inventory of safe microbial species including some probiotic species. Details are provided by Prof. Egon Bech Hansen: Slides. Abstract. A manuscript is currently under review for International Journal of Food Microbiology. Nutraingredients article.

Jeffrey Gordon interview with National Public Radio about findings from a study on the impact of probiotic yogurt consumption on gut microbiota, microbiome expression and urinary metabolites [McNulty et al. ScienceTranslational Medicine, Vol 3(106)].

Public Comment is solicited for NIH Common Fund Initiatives by September 14th, 2011. One of the proposed projects, Microbiome, Part 2, includes probiotics. Potential impact of Common Fund investment: Systems biology-derived “designer” probiotics may offer an inexpensive, holistic approach to disease prevention and treatment, although much research is necessary to realize this potential. It should be noted that probiotics have been used for decades, but systematic analyses of their efficacy and safety have not been conducted. Related web links:
http://commonfund.nih.gov/InnovationBrainstorm/
http://commonfund.nih.gov/InnovationBrainstorm/post/Microbiome-Part-2.aspx
http://commonfund.nih.gov/InnovationBrainstorm/page/Comment-Policy-.aspx

ISAPP is focus of article in Dairy Foods, "Looking Out for Probiotics."

Professor Seppo Salminen, University of Turku, Finland, announced the development of a website where a book covering Terminology for Functional Foods (including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, health claims, sensory evaluation of foods, and molecular gastronomy) is available in English, Portuguese and Italian. Download for free.

The publisher for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council announced that PDF versions of 4,000 books (including topics of food, nutrition, health, and Reference Dietary Intakes) will be downloadable to anyone free of charge from its website. PDF versions can be obtained on the book's page and clicking the "Download Free PDF" button.

ISAPP Board of Directors publishes letter to editor of British Journal of Nutrition, “Probiotic and prebiotic claims in Europe: seeking a clear roadmap.”

ISAPP Past-President Gregor Reid traveled to Eastern Europe to attend the International Scientific Conference on Probiotics and Prebiotics in Kosice, Slovakia, as well as other events, and filed these personal reflections. Report.

ISAPP now on Wikipedia.

Former ISAPP secretary, James Versolovic, authored an editorial for the latest edition of Probiotics Watch, a quarterly report sponsored by Danone Research that reviews recent scientific publications on probiotics. May 2011 Probiotics Watch. Sign up to receive Probiotics Watch.

The much anticipated review of probiotic safety, conducted by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Advancing Excellence in Health Care, and jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), has been published. Safety of Probiotics to Reduce Risk and Prevent or Treat Disease.

Notice of registration deadline for FASEB Summer Research Conference "Probiotics, Intestinal Microbiota and the Host: Physiological and Clinical Implications", Carefree Resort, Carefree, Arizona, USA. The conference will be held July 24-29, 2011. Early registration deadline is June 1, 2011. Registration. Flyer.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a final technical report from a stakeholders’ meeting December 2, 2010 meeting in Amsterdam. Titled “Outcome of a public consultation on the Draft Opinion of the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA) on a guidance on the scientific requirements for health claims related to gut and immune function,” this report includes a summary of comments received from the public on the draft guidance on gut and immune claims and the NDA panel’s response to those comments. Report. Updated guidance on gut and immune claim substantiation.