Groupe DANONE's Research Center and the Pasteur Institute have undertaken a joint program to deepen scientific knowledge of the way probiotics work.

This association, set up for an initial period of four years, is built on the complementary know-how of the two partners.

The Groupe Danone Research Center has a unique collection of 3,000 lactic ferments built up over the years since 19192. Its research teams specialize in microbiology, biochemistry, fermentation biotechnology, immunology and human nutrition.

The Pasteur Institute, internationally recognized for its expertise in microbiology and immunology, has developed in vitro and in vivo testing models with special relevance for probiotics.

The teams working in partnership are now focusing attention on ferments from the Danone collection, applying test methods developed by the Pasteur Institute. Results should allow the identification of new probiotic ferments and make for better understanding of their impact on human health.

Sven Thormahlen, Danone Vice President, R&D, comments: «This partnership will reinforce Danone's research capability in probiotics, helping to further enhance our current products and develop the probiotics of the future.»

Alice Dautry, Managing Director of the Pasteur Institute, welcomes a partnership that, she says, «will help us to better understand how probiotics work. We will thus be carrying on the work of Elie Metchnikoff, the Russian scientist Louis Pasteur welcomed in 1888, just as the Institute opened, and who was one of the first to take an interest in the influence of lactic bacteria on health.«

The Pasteur Institute is a private, not-for-profit, bio-medical research foundation officially recognized for its public utility. Founded in 1887, its mission is to contribute to the prevention and cure of disease, particularly infectious diseases, through research, teaching and public health initiatives. Nearly 2,500 people work at its sites in Paris, and 29 Pasteur Institutes on five continents count 9,500 staff members.

Ever since its foundation in 1966, Groupe Danone has based business development on consumer products favoring health and well-being. Now focused on three core businesses-Fresh Dairy Products, Beverages and Biscuits and Cereal Snacks—Groupe Danone has growth potential few other food companies can match. With products on sale in 120 countries, Groupe Danone reported sales of euros13.7 billion in 2004.

1 Probiotics are living bacteria that have a favorable effect on health when ingested in sufficient quantities.

2 The first Danone yogurts were made in 1919 with ferments from the Pasteur Institute. Since then, Danone has established itself as the leading modern brand for yogurts produced on an industrial scale.