Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) has developed and increased production of 15 strains of probiotics to add value to Thai food products and reduce import of probiotics.
Probiotics refer to "good bacteria" that can be mixed with food. They are good to the digestive system and help keep the body healthy.
TISTR selected 15 probiotics from a variety of 10,000 strains of microorganisms in Thailand for development and production under the Thailand 4.0 scheme, which emphasises a transition to technological advances and high-level services.
"Probiotic development is a trend in the food industry, which leads to new types of healthy food," said Chutima Eamchotchawalit, governor of TISTR. "Our developments provide a way to develop Thai agricultural products."
Food and agriculture are key industries in Thailand and their growth needs help through technology and innovation.
TISTR is working to support the two industries through its Innovative Center for Production of Industrially used Microorganisms (ICPIM) which specialises in research in the areas of probiotics and prebiotics.
ICPIM has worked more actively during the pandemic, which has had a significant impact on the Thai economy.
The centre was given a 154-million-baht budget to help rehabilitate economy, said Sayan Tanpanich, TISTR's deputy governor for research and development.
The money is being used to increase the production of probiotics to 25,000 from 15,000 litres a year. The additional amount is enough to support industries, said Mr Sayan.
The 15 selected probiotics are among 24 strains which are popular in food, food supplements and cosmetic industries, he said.
"Our development will help Thailand reduce microorganism imports worth 300 million baht a year. The imports may be no longer needed in 5-7 years," said Mr Sayan.
Thailand also has a chance to become an exporter of probiotics in the future, he said. The global probiotic market is now valued at 62 billion baht.
