Rochester area becomes probiotics incubator

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Thanks to a robust dairy industry, New York is gaining a reputation as the yogurt state.

But not as well known is the fact that the Rochester area is home to a quiet yet significant player in the growing probiotics industry.

Probiotics are the live beneficial micro-organisms added to yogurts, juices and a host of other "functional" foods. They also are sold as dietary supplements — and they are made in the Rochester area.

In 2009, the Danish company Danisco A/S retooled its Lexington Avenue facility in Greece, N.Y., which formerly made enzymes for a variety of products, to a plant that manufactures probiotic cultures for the food and supplement industries.

DuPont's Nutrition & Health division took over that business in 2011. The company manufactures probiotics in Greece and at a sister plant in Madison, Wis.

The global retail probiotic market was worth $32 billion last year, and is forecast to reach $45 billion by 2018, according to DuPont Nutrition & Health's global product director Scott Bush.

In the United States, most probiotics are sold in the form of dietary supplements, though a growing number of foods are now fortified with probiotics, including yogurts, juices, coffee, tea, chocolates, cereals, granola bars, frozen desserts, infant formulas even pizzas.

"Most consumers think of probiotics in terms of digestive health," says Bush.

Also known as beneficial bacteria, probiotics are best known for their effect on digestive health, but are also linked with helping immune function and with the production of certain vitamins in the body.

Studies are also ongoing for probiotics' potential to treat, minimize or prevent all sorts of health issues, from infant respiratory illnesses, obesity and tooth decay to high cholesterol, childhood allergies and asthma and urinary and genital tract infections. These studies look at how different strains or species of probiotics have been identified as affecting different health conditions.

Although DuPont officials declined to identify the consumer brands that contain their probiotics, they say their products can be found in drinks, confections, dairy products, frozen desserts and supplements and that the "work DuPont does in New York plays a critical role in the growing global market."

How probiotics are made

The probiotic manufacturing that is done in Rochester is actually the second leg of a three-part journey, says DuPont Nutrition & Health production manager Eric O'Brien.

At a sister site in Germany, probiotic seed cultures are developed.

Small vials of those strains are shipped to Rochester, where they are inoculated in a sterile flask containing a nutrient-rich growth formula that includes sugars, salt and yeast. The cultures then go through a series of fermentations to grow the bacteria. The environment must be carefully controlled to prevent contamination from other microorganisms.

Once the bacteria have reached the optimal population and fermentation is complete, they are put through a recovery process where the water and other nutrients are removed through centrifugal force. Samples are viewed under the microscope to check for stability and to make sure the population of microorganisms meets company specifications.

The entire process takes anywhere from a couple of days to a week, depending on the particular probiotic strain.

The product is then sent to a contractor for freeze-drying, then sent to DuPont Nutrition & Health's Wisconsin plant where further processing and blending takes place before it goes to market under the DuPont Danisco's Howaru and FloraFIT brands.

Earlier this year, the Greece facility earned Pareve kosher certification, which allows their probiotics to be consumed with meat or dairy by people who follow a strict kosher diet. Reformulated without lactose, these products are now completely vegan, adds quality control manager Gary Chilson.

How did this all start?

Russian biologist Elie Metchnikoff is known as the father of probiotics, and won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1908 by showing that intestinal illnesses can be treated with lactic acid bacteria that is found in fermented milk products. He wrote a book that explored the link between Bulgarian longevity and the regular consumption of fermented milk.

Europe and Asia have a much longer and stronger history where probiotic foods are concerned. For example, Japan's first probiotic dairy beverage, Yakult, was introduced in 1935. Yakult opened its first manufacturing plant in the U.S. this year.

Probiotics industry consultant Mary Ellen Sanders of Dairy & Food Culture Technologies in California says the American consumer interest in probiotics started about six to eight years ago. The introduction of products such as Dannon's Activia yogurt in 2003 "had a lot to do with it," she says.

The product was first marketed in France in 1987 and now sells in more than 70 countries.

"We are finding customers are more interested in gut health overall, and they know that probiotics play a role in that. Over 70% of our immune system is in our gut."

Fortifying foods with probiotics has been a strong trend across several grocery categories, says Wegmans nutritionist Trish Kazacos. Once the exclusive domain of the fermented dairy section (think yogurt and kefir), probiotics are now added to juices, flavored and carbonated coconut waters, teas, infant formulas and even chocolate.

The supermarket chain has seen a 21% increase in sales for probiotic supplements since last year, Kazacos adds.

Wegmans introduced its own private label prebiotic and probiotic "super yogurt" a few years ago. The company also has a private label probiotic supplement.

Health impact

Kazacos advises consumers to consult their health care providers for probiotic supplements that target specific ailments because these products contain specific strains.

Dr. Truptesh Kothari, assistant professor of medicine and director of the Developmental Endoscopy Lab at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, says probiotics definitely have an effective role in alleviating several gastrointestinal conditions.

He often prescribes probiotic medical foods — over-the-counter products with especially high potency of probiotics — to his patients with these conditions, along with other prescription medications, and generally has had good results. But the key, he says, is matching the correct probiotic strains to the conditions being treated, and making sure the probiotics are administered in adequate strength.

While he is optimistic about the expanding role that probiotics can play in treating gastrointenstinal conditions, Kothari also stresses that people should talk to their doctors before taking probiotics supplements. He also believes that healthy individuals who eat a balanced diet may not require probiotic supplements, just as they may not need multivitamins.

"It is fine for people to consume probiotics-enriched food items (such as yogurt)," he notes.