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Below you see some data information shown on a few probiotic products. Many products do not show either production date nor best by date. They are not legally required.
My preference has always favor probiotics that includes manufacturing date. Two of the products above cite a three year shelf life (assuming appropriate storage). My favorite source, Maple Life Science™, ship directly to me from their factory. Usually they arrive within one month of manufacture (occasionally, the same month!)
Some Studies of special interest
The chart below is from Study of Viability, Storage Stability, and Shelf Life of Probiotic Instant Coffee Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Subsp. plantarum Dad-13 in Vacuum and Nonvacuum Packaging at Different Storage Temperatures [2022]
From the moment that a probiotic leaves a factory, temperature control is usually non-existent. The trucks that transport them are likely not refrigerated nor are wholesale warehouse storing them. When they arrive at a health food store they are typically placed in a refrigerated cabinet for presentation to customers. In many cases, if you insist on seeing where the bottles are stored before, do not be surprise to see that it is not a refrigerated area. It is possible that the probiotics may be subject to 37C(98.6F) for months before the shop keeper places it in the refrigerated cabinet. Each number on the left scale indicate 1/10 of the number above it.
A shipment from a east coast producer to a west coast store direct, is 4-8 days. If the shipment goes to a wholesaler’s warehouse than expect a few days more. The result in summer can easily be as much as 97% of the viable bacteria that leaves the factory may be killed if it takes 15 summer days (per above chart).
From Perplexity.ai, this is clear:
The short version is that during summer in the US, the amount of viable bacteria may be 1/100 of what the probiotic had at the factory. There are stick-on labels that will change color if storage exceeds a threshold — unfortunately, no one is using that.
Microbiological Quality and Antimicrobial Resistance of Commercial Probiotic Products for Food-Producing Animals [2024] reports no viable Lactobacillus was found in some products
In terms of probiotics sold by microbiome testing companies, the only one that I know of that “ships direct from probiotic manufacturer” is PrecisionBiome.Eu that has established a relationship with a German probiotic producer. Their client base is the EU, so transit time from “vat to customer” is short.
Absence of Regulations Problem
There are recommendations such as Best Practices Voluntary Guidelines for Probiotics[2017] provides some guidance (ignored by most producers). Producers can make claims of shelf life (best before) of 10 years without consequences. With no manufacture date, no one knows when it was made. Calls to their customer lines will usually give questionable answers. The probiotic industry have many active lobbyists to inhibit anything that may effect profits.
Figure Pointing for Probiotics being DAO
If you buy a probiotic and found it is effectively DAO and contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer will claim no responsibility once it left their premise. It is the responsibility of the trucking companies and wholesaler storage. Those folks will then point at the retail store mishandling things.
This harsh reality is why I try to buy direct from the manufacturer (no Amazon, no health food stores).
Bottom Line
“I didn’t get any benefit from probiotics, I got them refrigerated from my trusted health food store“ is a frequent complaint that I hear. IMHO, they do not work because they have been well cooked! Our habit is order our year supply of probiotics from Maple Life Science™ in the fall and winter. The colder it is outside, the better it is.
My “rules of thumbs” on taking probiotics will be the next topic.