Development and commercialisation of fonterra's probiotic strains

Fonterra took a strategic decision in early 1996 to invest in a multi-disciplinary research program to develop its own proprietary probiotic strains. A structured approach based on in vitro and in vivo screening methods was used for the primary screening of potential probiotic candidates. The target health benefit used for selection of strains was immune enhancement. Strains were evaluated using both in vitro immune tests and appropriate in vivo animal models. After screening more than 2000 strains, four potential probiotic strains of food or human origin were selected. Strains were shown to provide protection against disease and mortality in animals challenged with pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Safety of the strains was tested exhaustively and strains were shown to be safe for human consumption. Four strains were characterised using both classical and modern molecular techniques as Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, L. rhamnosus HN067, L. acidophilus HN017 and Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 and were patent protected. Two - L. rhamnosus HN001 and B. lactis HN019 - were trade marked as DR20 and DR10 respectively