The frozen economy isn't putting a chill on the frozen and freeze dried probiotics culture market. In recent months, two companies, Ganaden and Danisco, announced agreements with frozen yogurt and beverage manufacturers and retailers that serve the hip healthy FRO-YO market (active culture frozen yogurt market). According to a recent article in Restaurants and Institutions magazine, the FRO-YO market is attracting health minded consumers for taste, low-fat and a growing understanding of the importance of probiotics for immune health.

In July, Red Mango retail stores began offering made to order ice teas fortified with GanadenBC30® probiotics. By September, all frozen yogurt products sold by Red Mango's will now include patented GanedenBC30 through an exclusive agreement. In 2007, Red Mango became the first natural frozen yogurt concept in the U.S. to be certified by the National Yogurt Association's Live and Active Culture seal program, which confirms that Red Mango meets or exceeds the criteria for healthy frozen yogurt.

To help consumers distinguish between yogurts that contain live active cultures and those that do not, the National Yogurt Association established a "Live Active Culture" seal. The seal is available for use by any yogurt manufacturer on packaging and requires refrigerated yogurt to contain 108 viable lactic acid bacteria per gram at the time of manufacture. The seal also can be used on frozen yogurts containing 107 viable lactic acid bacteria per gram at time of manufacture.

In July, YoCream International, Inc. (YOCM), a dairy and manufacturing facility in Portland, OR, and leading producer of frozen yogurt, desserts and beverages in the US, announced that it will use a new High Culture™ Frozen Yogurt with HOWARU® premium probiotics from Danisco.

Danisco is seeing increased demand for its probiotics, just last week they announced investments totaling 60 million euros that will add more than 2,000 tonnes to its existing cultures production capacity over the next three years. These investments are designed to meet growing global demand for frozen and freeze-dried Direct Vat Inoculants (DVI).

The additional capacities will be located both in North America, where Danisco is transforming a former enzyme production unit from its Genencor Division into a cultures plant, and in Europe. The company is transforming its Rochester New York's facility into a cultures plant, which will enable the company to save on time and capital expenditures.