Yili's probiotic approved for inclusion in infant food list

The National Health Commission announced that Yili's independently developed probiotic strain, YLGB-1496, has been included in the "List of Strains that can be Used in Food for Infants and Young Children".

This marks the first probiotic strain on the list to be independently developed by a Chinese dairy company and sourced from Chinese breast milk. The approval of YLGB-1496 represents a significant breakthrough in the industrialization of locally developed probiotics in China.

Yili's probiotic researchers cultivate strains. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The gut microbiota of breastfed infants is dominated by bifidobacteria, which can efficiently utilize the core nutritional component of breast milk – human milk oligosaccharides (HMO). YLGB-1496 is an infant-type probiotic that can efficiently utilize HMO, allowing it to adapt quickly in the infant gut and support the establishment of a healthy early gut micro-ecosystem.

Yili, in collaboration with the National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy and other authoritative institutions, conducted clinical studies. The results showed that YLGB-1496 significantly reduces the incidence of eczema and respiratory infection symptoms in infants, supporting the development of the early immune system. YLGB-1496 also helps improve infant gut comfort, reducing the incidence and severity of diarrhea.

The strain and related technologies have been granted 15 Chinese invention patents. They have already been applied in several Yili products and will be incorporated into core product lines, such as infant formula, in the future.