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Natural Healthcare And Advice

Probiotics

There is some concern regarding the viability of probiotics ordered from overseas, especially if storage conditions may not have been maintained. This issue was addressed in a recent Nutrition Care newsletter (Nutrition Care Bulletin, Vol 14, issue 7), one of the local Australian companies that manufacturers probiotics. A summary of the article is reproduced below.

It makes sense that the microorganisms used as probiotics are heat-stable. Body temperature is 37⁰C – so if they couldn’t survive these temperatures they simply would not qualify as a probiotic. While the internal environment is quite different from the external environment, it is safe to assume that temperatures of 37⁰C and above will not “kill off” these microorganisms. Some probiotic species have a better tolerance for quite high temperatures, such as Streptococcus thermophilus. Others are more sensitive, such as Bifidobacteria.

Nutrition Care performs ongoing stability studies of its probiotic products. These include both storage at refrigerated conditions and analysis of the effects of short-term temperature excursions from refrigerated conditions (such as 3 days at 37⁰C followed by a return to refrigerated conditions).

 Short periods un-refrigerated while in transit, even at relatively high temperatures, won’t affect these products unduly. As long as the product remains sealed, and is not subjected to direst sunlight for inordinate periods of time, it will remain stable and therapeutically viable.

 As a basic rule, all probiotic products should be kept refrigerated once they have arrived at their destination and are placed in storage.

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Last modified: 05/28/08