DuPont Nutrition & Health and Eurofins have developed and validated strain-level identification assays in probiotic testing, leading the way for industrywide product integrity and label accuracy.
DuPont, a leading manufacturer of probiotics that are scientifically proven to have health benefits, routinely utilizes new technologies to improve its methods of strain identification. Eurofins will employ DuPont’s polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) genotyping assays to identify probiotics at the strain level in both raw materials and finished products.
An Industrywide Challenge
The need for strain-specific testing is clear: Numerous studies have found inaccuracies in probiotic labeling, with issues including incorrect taxonomy, missing species and unlabeled species.
These findings emphasize the necessity of reliable methods to determine the taxonomy of microbial populations in probiotic products–Wesley Morovic, scientist in the Genomics & Microbiome Science group at DuPont Nutrition & Health.
“However, because strain identification has not historically been required, little investment has been made to support the industry in doing so. DuPont is one of few manufacturers to share its genetic identification methods with customers and the public.”
By making its genotyping PCRs available and working with Eurofins to develop accurate tests, DuPont is leading the industry toward label traceability.
“Many manufacturers understand that verifying raw materials and identifying finished products is as important as quantifying potency, for both label compliance and manufacturer confidence,” said Mehgan Styke, business development manager at Eurofins. “But until now, the tools for specific and accurate identification were either inaccessible or had yet to be developed; adding to the challenge are the nuances of probiotic products. With DuPont’s strain assays, Eurofins has become the first third-party laboratory to support identification to strain level, completing our portfolio of accurate testing for full label verification of potency, stability and identification.”
A Science-Based Solution
“Our goal is to use science-driven solutions to bring a higher level of transparency to the probiotics market,” said Megan DeStefano, global marketing manager, Probiotics, DuPont Nutrition & Health, “benefiting both manufacturers, who are under increased pressure to identify strains and are able to make health claims associated with specific ones, and consumers. We have worked closely with Eurofins to develop this service and are fully confident in their capabilities.”
“These methods are at a cost and efficiency in line with the current less accurate and less specific methods,” said Michael Drozd, president of Eurofins AgBio. “We are excited to leverage the collective knowledge of DuPont and Eurofins BioDiagnostics to bring the industry to a higher level of transparency.”
About DuPont Nutrition & Health
DuPont Nutrition & Health, a DowDuPont Specialty Products Division business, combines in-depth
knowledge of food and nutrition with current research and expert science to deliver unmatched value to
the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and dietary supplement industries. We are innovative solvers,
drawing on deep consumer insights and a broad product portfolio to help our customers turn challenges
into high-value business opportunities.
About Eurofins
Eurofins Scientific through its subsidiaries (hereinafter sometimes “Eurofins” or “the Group”) believes it is
the world leader in food, environment and pharmaceutical products testing and that it is also one of the
global independent market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for agro-science, genomics,
discovery pharmacology and for supporting clinical studies. In addition, Eurofins is one of the key
emerging players in specialty clinical diagnostic testing in Europe and the USA. With over 30,000 staff in
400 laboratories across 42 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 150,000 analytical methods for
evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and
products, as well as for innovative clinical diagnostic. The Group objective is to provide its customers
with high-quality services, accurate results on time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.
