Tara Parker-Pope, “Probiotics: Looking Underneath the Yogurt Label,” The New York Times, September 29, 2009

“Just as a doctor would prescribe different antibiotics for strep throat or tuberculosis, different probiotic species and strains confer different health benefits,” writes New York Times columnist Tara Parker-Pope in this article examining food-labeling claims that link Lactobacillus and other probiotic families to improved digestive health. According to Parker-Pope, some experts and scientific studies have suggested that specific probiotic strains may reduce diarrhea and the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, but researchers have stopped short of a consensus on disease prevention and overall health maintenance. “It’s a huge problem for the consumer to try and make heads or tails of whether the products that are out there really work,” stated one assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University.

The article notes that recent litigation involving yogurt maker Dannon Co. has also drawn attention to the issue. The company has apparently agreed to list the scientific names of the probiotic strains in its products as part of a $35 million class action settlement. “Lactobacillus is just a bacterium,” Gregor Reid, director of the Canadian Research and Development Center for Probiotics, was quoted as saying. “To say a product contains Lactobacillus is like saying you’re bringing George Clooney to a party. It may be the actor, or it may be an 85-year-old guy from Atlanta who just happens to be named George Clooney. With probiotics, there are strain-to-strain differences.”