The Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies posted its assessment of 800 health claims earlier this week, including some from manufacturers whose products include so-called functional ingredients like probiotics, which are food additives proponents claim can stimulate the immune system to aid digestion or inhibit pathogens.
Independent scientists on the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies, part of the European Food Safety Authority, have found no cause-and-effect relationship between probiotic products and improved immune systems - for the sixth time.
A separate ruling addressed Yakult, a probiotic beverage in Japan which claims its product strengthens the immune system to help prevent colds. The EFSA panel reviewed 12 studies submitted for the company's proprietary strain of probiotic bacteria, Lactobacillus casei shirota, and found the research was inadequate to support that claim.
Read more: Food Safety News
Read more: Guardian
