The Global Prebiotic Association (GPA) has published a perspective paper in which it defines “prebiotics” and “prebiotic effect,” amid widespread calls for regulatory definitions from many in the industry.   
 
The new paper, published in Advances in Nutrition, provides an industry perspective on prebiotics’ definition, health benefits, and mechanisms of action. GPA acknowledged other definitions published by organizations such as the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) and United Nations Food and Agricutlure Organization (FAO). GPA led literature reviews and facilitated discussions with expert members to propose definition updates.
 
GPA’s new definitions integrate recent advances in gut biology, metagenomics, and prebiotic research.
 
The primary changes move away from the concept of selectivity and introduce two new aspects: prebiotic effect and performance benefit. GPA is developing standards of evidence to determine established, novel, and emerging prebiotics, which will be a tool to assess ingredients or products and as a resource for technical papers and programs such as SGS Nutrasource’s NutraStrong Prebiotic Verified standard which validates the quality and efficacy of prebiotic ingredients.
 
GPA’s updated definition encompasses non-carbohydrate prebiotic ingredients, new formulations such as topicals, and non-gastrointestinal microbiomes, for both human and animal applications. These updates will help reduce ambiguity and ensure clarity and utility for the scientific community, industry, regulators, healthcare providers, and consumers.
 
“The GPA’s mission is to steward responsible growth of the prebiotic category globally. It is also to recognize established and emerging benefits, and the prebiotic definition, as well as the discussion of prebiotic effect represents a huge milestone for us as an organization,” stated Len Monheit, executive director at GPA.
 
“While prebiotics can be leveraged to promote health, a lot of confusion remains among consumers and other stakeholders around the term prebiotic and what exactly is a prebiotic effect. This position paper is a significant achievement for the prebiotic category and GPA, as it provides a sound regulatory and scientific perspective that will help bring clarity to and advance the category,” said Edward Deehan, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
 
“The value of this paper lies in its presentation of insights from key stakeholders – prebiotic industry professionals and scientists – who frequently engage with the public and recognize the importance of clear, precise terminology in definitions,” said Santa Al Antwan, regulatory affairs associate at SGS Nutrasource.