Assessment of commercial probiotic products in China for labelling accuracy and probiotic characterisation of selected isolates

Microbial populations in probiotic supplements in China were investigated using the plate count method and PCR – DGGE technique. Our results indicated that total viable cells in most probiotic products could meet the minimum requirement of the Chinese National Standards (10 6 CFU / mL ); however, total viable cell counts of the species detected in the probiotic products did not correspond with the cell number given in the label.