Background: Probiotics are pharmaceutical products that contain living bacteria and are used to manage certain disorders, as well as to enhance general health. There are some reports criticizing the quality of these products, highlighting findings such as pathogen contamination and misleading labeling. Regulation and control of probiotics vary between international regulatory authorities, creating a gap between probiotic manufacturers and regulatory bodies.
Methods: In this article, the probiotics available in Saudi Arabia were analyzed in regard to their presented method of identification and labeling information.
Results: Only 1 of 22 products had confirmed the bacterial strain using a genotypic method; the rest presented various phenotypic methods. More than half of the reviewed products did not contain the strain designation on the outside labeling of the probiotic.
Conclusion: The Saudi Food and Drug Authority should act by adopting a new guideline to control and regulate probiotics in Saudi Arabia, which could then be expanded to cover gulf countries (GCC).
Keywords: FDA; complementary medicine; functional food; lactobacillus; probiotics; regulatory science.