Global Probiotics Council

The Global Probiotic Council

The Global Probiotics Council (GPC) was established in 2004 through a collaborative arrangement between DANONE and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. The role of the GPC is to promote and/or advance probiotics in the world, through means such as:

1. Raising awareness of probiotics and their health benefits through science-based education and dissemination of information to health care professionals and the public;
2. Communicating with government bodies, and other relevant interest groups; and
3. Building relationships with leading researchers and research institutions and supporting collaborative research in the area of probiotics and intestinal microbiota.

GPC activities began with the establishment of a Probiotics Scientific Board in the United States. The Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research program was established to meet these goals by contributing to the advancement of probiotics study in the United States.

DANONE

DANONE is the world’s leading producer of yogurt products. These products are sold under the DANNON and DANONE brand names. Since its foundation, DANONE has built its business on product offerings which combine health benefits and taste. DANONE RESEARCH is the organization responsible for all DANONE R&D activities (1200 employees worldwide). Its mission is to formulate DANONE products with health benefits based on scientific evidence. It also studies the effects of food on health and aims to continuously improve the nutritional profile of DANONE products worldwide. Probiotic research is a key expertise of DANONE RESEARCH. Over the past 90 years, DANONE has amassed a collection of approximately 4,000 lactic bacteria strains or “cultures”. In addition to taste and texture, some of these cultures provide probiotic health properties. Such is the case of Bifidobacterium animalis DN 173 010, used to produce Activia, and Lactobacillus casei DN 114 001, used to produce DanActive. Because this culture collection holds considerable potential for product innovation, DANONE RESEARCH using state-of-the-art technologies to select the probiotic bacteria of the future is carefully studying it.

Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd.

Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is the world's pioneer in probiotics by introducing the first single shot probiotics drink, Yakult®, in 1935. Founded by microbiologist Dr. Minoru Shirota, Yakult® contains high amounts of its signature strain, Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Yakult is committed to researching the endless applications for probiotics and the use of intestinal bacteria in human health around the world. The company has established two science institutes to support its efforts: one in Japan (Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research) and one in Europe (Yakult Honsha European Research Center for Microbiology ESV). Since developing its overseas network in 1964, Yakult has expanded its business to 32 countries and territories. In addition to producing the internationally recognized probiotic beverage, Yakult is also accredited in the pharmaceutical field for its development of Campto Injection (Camptosar), the first-line drug for colorectal cancer in the U.S. Yakult U.S.A. Inc., the subsidiary of Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., is stationed in Torrance, CA.