Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the term probiotic being used as an ingredient descriptor on (a) food and (b) food supplement labels.

‘Probiotic’ is a term used to describe live bacteria used in food and food supplements. The current Regulation governs the use of nutrition and health claims on foods to protect consumers from being misled, by ensuring that any health claims made are backed by substantiated scientific evidence. Under the Regulation, the term ‘probiotic’ can be considered a non-specific health claim, as it suggests a relationship between the substance and health. It can already be used, providing it is accompanied by an approved health claim for the specific strain of live bacteria. No further assessment of merit has been undertaken although the Department continues to engage with industry on any potential future application for new assessment. To date the Department has not received any application for approving claims on specific strains of live bacteria. Companies would be required to include the specific strain in the ingredient listing.