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VSL#3 probiotic goes dairy-free
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VSL Pharmaceuticals has relocated manufacturing of its probiotic medical food VSL#3 back to Italy to remove all traces of dairy from the process, making it the only dairy-free probiotic medical food available, according to a press release.
VSL#3 (VSL Pharmaceuticals) is a probiotic medical food for the dietary management of patients with ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and ileal pouch. The move to make it diary-free will enable such patients who also suffer from milk allergies or lactose intolerance to use VSL#3.
“As demand for the VSL#3 brand continues, we have more consumers and recommenders talking about VSL#3 and giving us great feedback over the years, including some questions around the dairy component,” Mary Ocnean, vice president of commercial operations at Sigma-Tau Healthscience USA Inc., VSL#3’s U.S. distributor, said in a press release. “Moving VSL#3 back to the original manufacturing facility in Italy allowed the brand to revert back to an established process that removes all dairy while maintaining the original proprietary mix of eight strains of live bacteria.”
The new manufacturing process will also be more efficient and stabilize pricing, according to the press release. The relocation will enable packaging improvements to help maintain potency, including a new cap to replace the peel-off covering, and thicker powder packets or sachets.
A trace amount of cornstarch has also been added to the product to reduce moisture and maintain potency, of which patients with corn allergies should be made aware.
“VSL#3 unflavored packets have always contained cornstarch and now this inactive ingredient has been added to improve the other forms of the product, as well,” Ocnean said in the press release.
Disclosures: Ocnean is employed by Sigma-Tau Healthscience, USA.