Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman of Ullock on 29 January (HL13472), what assessment they have made of the growth potential for the probiotics sector if such products were permitted to be labelled and marketed as probiotics, rather than alternative descriptors such as gut health.

Decisions are made on the basis of robust scientific evidence. The Department has not assessed the growth potential of the probiotics sector if products containing live bacteria were permitted to be labelled and marketed as probiotics.

Industry can apply to have nutrition and health claims authorised through an established process which is set out in the Department’s published guidance, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nutrition-and-health-claims-guidance-to-compliance-with-regulation-ec-1924-2006-on-nutrition-and-health-claims-made-on-foods/nutrition-and-health-claims-guidance-to-compliance-with-regulation-ec-19242006