Taxonomy of Probiotic Microorganisms

Abstract

When referring to probiotics, one refers to probiotic strains, i.e., the microbial individuals, sub-cultures of billion of almost identical cells ideally derived from the same mother cell. Therefore, beneficial effects attributed to probiotics are ascribed in fact to specific strains. However, these strains have to be, by law, clearly identified at the species level (Pineiro and Stanton, 2007). In fact, probiotics have to be safe for consumption, and the evaluation of QPS -- qualified presumption of safety -- status by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (Opinion, 2007) is discussed for species, not for single strains.