Probiotics and Human Health
New research on the beneficial relationship between probiotics and human health continues to unfold. The probiotic food market continues to grow with a host of probiotic strains now added to a broad array of dairy and other food products. For the latest research on probiotic-related health outcomes, please plan to attend Session 101 “Probiotics: Insights and health applications” on Monday morning, July 19, at 8:30–10:00 a.m. in Room S401ab. Attendees will obtain insights into probiotic traits that can impact survival and activity in the gastrointestinal tract and how the form of the food can influence expression of these traits.
Bruce German, Univ. of California, Davis, will discuss human milk oligosaccharides and the genetic capability of select intestinal bacteria to utilize them. Todd R. Klaenhammer, North Carolina State Univ., will describe how the use of genomic tools for gene cloning, expression, and inactivation can investigate mechanisms through which probiotic microbes interact with the intestinal mucosa and impact health. Mary Ellen Sanders, Dairy and Food Culture Technologies, will discuss the regulatory environment (primarily U.S., Canada, and Europe) for translating probiotic-related research into health benefit claims for foods.