Hallbergmoos, Germany, 31.01.2024 – vermicon AG, a pioneer in the field of industrial microbiology, announces the launch of the first Flow VIT® test kits for the probiotics sector: Flow VIT® Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Flow VIT® Bifidobacterium lactis, Flow VIT® Lactobacillus plantarum and Flow VIT® Bifidobacterium longum. These state-of-the-art kits enable rapid and specific enumeration of bacterial cells, even in complex mixtures, and represent a significant leap forward in precision and efficiency for quality control of probiotics.

Quality control during manufacturing requires accurate enumeration of individual bacterial species in probiotic blends. Despite advances in methods such as next-generation sequencing and flow cytometry, certain challenges remain. While molecular methods struggle with rapid enumeration or live/dead differentiation, flow cytometry cannot distinguish between multiple bacterial species and therefore can‘t be used for the identification and quantification of multi-species probiotic blends. Flow VIT® combines the molecular method fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with flow cytometry to provide a rapid and specific enumeration of bacterial cells, even in complex samples, overcoming the limitations of molecular and traditional microbiological testing methods.

Dr. Jiri Snaidr, microbiologist and CEO of vermicon AG, comments: „The Flow VIT® test kits represent a paradigm shift in probiotic microbial analysis. This technology provides developers with precise insights and accelerates the production of safe and high-quality probiotics. In the next few months, we will further expand our portfolio to be able to offer Flow VIT® test kits for the most relevant bacteria in probiotics.”

The first test kits, including Flow VIT® Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Flow VIT® Bifidobacterium lactis, Flow VIT® Lactobacillus plantarum and Flow VIT® Bifidobacterium longum, are now available on the market. vermicon AG is constantly expanding its portfolio of standard test kits and offers customised test kits for single or multi-species blends.

The company will showcase the Flow VIT® technology and its new test kits at the upcoming Probiota 2024 conference, 7-9 February in Milan, Italy. Attendees are invited to explore these advances and discuss how this technology can revolutionize the analysis of probiotics, enabling more effective and reliable products.