Translations:Probiotic/59/en

Fourth, probiotics must be safe for their intended use. The 2002 FAO/WHO guidelines recommend that, though bacteria may be generally recognized as safe (GRAS), the safety of the potential probiotic be assessed by the minimum required tests:

• Assessment of certain metabolic activities (e.g. D-lactate production, bile salt deconjugation)
• Assessment of side effects in human studies
• Determination of antibiotic resistance patterns
• Epidemiological surveillance of adverse incidents in consumers (aftermarket)
• If the strain under evaluation belongs to a species known to produce toxins in mammals, it must be tested for toxin production. One possible scheme for testing toxin production has been recommended by the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition.
• If the strain under evaluation belongs to a species with known hemolytic potential, determination of hemolytic activity is required.