Probiotic foods could "disappear" due to the European Food Safety Authority's constant scientific rejection of health and digestion claims

After bombarding consumers with a barrage of confusing messages about the health benefits of probiotic bacteria, major players in the world’s highest-selling functional food category admit they may have to concede defeat and that the industry could disappear altogether.

At a Probiotics Summit in Brussels this week, a spokesman for Danone, the largest fresh dairy product maker in the world, said that the European Food Safety Authority’s continuous rejection of health claims by hundreds of applicants offers little hope that the probiotics industry will be able to survive, attendees heard.

EFSA maintains that the science behind such claims is flimsy at best and had rejected 260 out of 300 probiotic health claim submissions as of last November. Nor is the US Food and Drug Administration convinced that probiotics carry scientifically proven health benefits, treading carefully around the subject.

In 2008, the US arm of of the company, Dannon, was slapped with a class-action lawsuit for making misleading health claims and agreed to pony up $35 million to consumers, in addition to making changes to the labeling and advertising of Activia and DanActive.

Dannon also withdrew claims that Activia improves digestion and slow transit and that its Actimel strengthens the body’s natural defenses.

Meanwhile, though some critics at the summit accused EFSA of being too strict and setting the “scientific bar too high,” others defended the agency’s hard line and pointed the finger at the poor quality of the dossiers, reports NutraIngredients.com.

Some studies claim that probiotics can improve digestive health, treat everything from diarrhea to irritable bowel syndrome and urinary tract infections, reduce bladder recurrence, and prevent or reduce the severity of colds and flu.