Basics of Probiotics for Practitioners

The probiotic field has expanded greatly over the past decade, yet misinformation abounds. This talk reviews established criteria for legitimate probiotics, briefly summarizes evidence where probiotics might be of value to human health, and discusses how to navigate the probiotic marketplace.

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Speaker

Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD is a consultant in the area of probiotic microbiology. She works internationally with food and supplement companies to develop new probiotic products and offers perspective on paths to scientific substantiation of probiotic product label claims. She is the current chair of the United States Pharmacopeia’s Probiotics Expert Panel, was a member of the working group convened by the FAO/WHO that developed guidelines for probiotics, and serves on the World Gastroenterology Organisation Guidelines Committee preparing practice guidelines for the use of probiotics and prebiotics for gastroenterologists. She serves as Executive Science Officer for the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, an organization she helped found in 2002.