Do Probiotics need to be refrigerated? Shelf stable vs refrigerated probiotics explained.

Do Probiotics need to be refrigerated? Shelf stable vs refrigerated probiotics explained.

Ever wondered if it makes any difference whether your Probiotics are stored in the fridge, or can be left in a cupboard at room temperature. Are refrigerated Probiotics better? Do they survive longer? Are they more effective?

The simple answer is no, not necessarily.

But, it’s still important to refrigerate some Probiotics, especially when the manufacturer recommends it, so in this article we’ll dive into the differences between shelf stable Probiotics and refrigerated ones, why you would need to refrigerate some and not others, and how much of an impact it really has on your Probiotic effectiveness.

Why are Probiotics sensitive in the first place?

Probiotics are living bacteria, even when they’re in a capsule in your cupboard! As living bacteria they naturally eat, produce various by products, and have a natural lifespan. The aim with a Probiotic is to keep the metabolism of the bacteria as low as possible. If moisture and warmth allow that metabolism to work at full capacity in storage, this can cause the viability of the bacteria to decline much faster. The thing is, if they were working away at full capacity while they were sat in your capsule, then by the time you came to take them most of them would have died off as they would have reached the end of their natural lives.

It’s for this reason that when we want to use them in supplements we need to keep them alive, but slow them down so much that until you take them, they’re basically asleep. But, there are different methods for doing this, and each has its benefits, and its potential drawbacks.

Freeze dried vs Refrigerated

Freeze Dried

Most Probiotics today are freeze dried. This is basically a process where the living bacteria have as much moisture removed from them as possible in a vacuum, leaving them alive but incredibly dry, typically in powder form. This dry state basically slows them down so much that they almost go into hibernation! They can stay in this state for years, and it’s this fact that makes this method so useful for preserving them in a capsule. The benefit of this approach is that freeze dried bacteria can last at room temperature for a very long time, which makes them ‘shelf-stable’, in other words, they don’t have any specific storage requirements except for keeping them in a reasonably dry place, and away from intense heat.

Now, this might sound like it’s a bit too harsh on the bacteria themselves, as if they’re so slowed down, how can they help you when you take them? Well, the good news is that once you take your Probiotic, the bacteria are exposed the moisture and warmth of your gut. This ‘wakes them up’ so to speak, and they rev back up into full speed. Most manufacturers will do shelf-life tests to see how long their bacteria can survive in the capsule before they start dying off, and this is used to calculate the expiry date. For Better Guts, this is a whole 2 years after manufacture, so we know that our microbes will be at their best when you take them.

Refrigerated

Another approach, and a much simpler one, is to keep them cold. The drop in temperature slows the bacteria down dramatically, as it does for most bacteria. In fact, this is the reason that keeping your food in the fridge makes it last longer! The bacteria on it have just been slowed down by the cold, so they take longer to start breaking the food down.

It should be noted that some freeze dried bacteria also need to be refrigerated. This is because the bacteria used are still too active even after drying, and won’t survive for long enough at room temperature, so keeping them cold as well is just an extra layer of precaution to make sure they survive.

So much like freeze drying, this method relies on slowing the bacteria down as much as possible to keep them alive until you take them.

But, there are some key differences here! The bacteria will be far more active, even when they’re cold, if they’re in an environment with a lot of water. So even while you refrigerate them, they’re still far more active than they would be if they were freeze dried. This means that they live out their lives much faster, and you’ll notice that most liquid Probiotics on the market today have use by dates that are much shorter than the freeze dried alternatives!

As a result, liquid Probiotics can be very effective, but need to be kept cold almost all of the time, and will last for a much shorter period once they’re manufactured. This can be tricky, especially when it comes to shipping them, or taking them with you as you travel.

Why use one or the other?

It all really comes down to the strain of bacteria used. So, for example, in shelf life testing, the bacteria we use at Better Guts, LGG and BB12, both show that they survive freeze drying extremely well. Not only that, but they survive in the capsule for years afterwards as long as they’re stored in a cool, dry place. There are obvious advantages to freeze drying: longer shelf life, no refrigeration needed, much easier to travel with, and no need for any preservatives, which makes transporting them and storing them much simpler. So if a company can use this method, they often will as it’s easier both for them and for their customers.

However, some strains of bacteria really don’t survive the freeze drying process well, and will largely die off or be seriously damaged. If a Probiotic manufacturer really wants to use one of these bacteria, often their best option is to make a liquid that requires refrigeration. Some strains are much harder than others to stabilise successfully in a dried formulation, so the refrigeration then becomes necessary. There are some very good strains of bacteria used in liquid Probiotics today, so they can be very beneficial when the right ones are used! But needing to keep them refrigerated can complicate things, and make them very difficult to travel with, as for some liquid Probiotics even 24hrs out of the fridge is enough to damage their population and seriously impact the supplement’s effectiveness, especially once the bottle has been opened.

A note on additives

Because a freeze dried Probiotic is typically shelf stable in itself, and it’s taken in a capsule, there isn’t really much need for other additives most of the time. This doesn’t stop a lot of brands using additives though! So it’s always worth checking your label for artificial additives in any supplement. You’d be amazed how many out there have a whole litany of artificial ingredients, many of them unnecessary, and it’s for this reason that Better Guts formulated our products with no artificial additives at all!

It’s a different story for liquid probiotics though. Virtually none are just a bacterium in water, as this is at the end of the day a product that people have to drink in order to benefit from. So manufacturers will often add things to make the liquid taste nicer, look nicer, smell nicer and so on. As a result you can end up with a product that can help you, but also contains several other things you didn’t really want. Things to look out for are sugar, artificial sweeteners, as well as other artificial colours, flavours and so on. It’s also worth noting that a lot of liquid Probiotics are dairy based, which is fine for most, but can be an issue for those of us who are lactose intolerant, or for adherents of a Vegan lifestyle.

Preservatives can also be an issue. Some liquid products may use preservatives to control unwanted yeasts, moulds or contaminating bacteria. This creates a formulation challenge because many preservatives are antimicrobial by nature, so the manufacturer must ensure that the system controls spoilage without compromising the intended live cultures. As a result the manufacturers that do use them have to strike a balance: use enough preservative to extend the shelf life, but not so much that it damages the bacteria they’re trying to supplement you with. This is a complicated game, and varies a lot depending on what preservative is used and what the bacteria is that they’re trying to protect. Of course, freeze dried bacteria in the vast majority of cases do not need any preservatives at all.

Are refrigerated Probiotics better than dried, shelf-stable Probiotics?

Simply speaking, the answer is no. It’s important to remember that refrigeration is only a storage requirement, and not necessarily a measure of how beneficial the microbes used are. The most important factor to check is the clinical evidence behind the bacteria and what it’s been proven to do!

The main benefits of dried over refrigerated come in the form of convenience in shipping, storage, and taking your Probiotics with you when you travel.

What if I leave my refrigerated Probiotics out of the fridge?

In a word, they’ll start to lose viability, and therefore effectiveness. But, how badly they’re impacted depends on a few things. The strain of bacteria, how long it’s out of the fridge for, and the temperature that it reaches all play a really important part in answering that question.

The best thing to do is to keep a probiotic that requires refrigeration in the fridge as much of the time as possible! Following the manufacturers guidelines here is always a good idea too.

If you forget the bottle out of the fridge for half an hour, don’t worry about it too much. If you leave it in a hot car for a whole day, that can be a very different story!

Can I travel with Probiotics?

This really comes down to the simple question, do they need to be refrigerated? Shelf-stable Probiotics are easy enough to travel with as you can just take the bottle with you in a bag. But for refrigerated Probiotics, how long they’re going to spend out of the fridge, and what temperature they reach, both play a really important part. If you have to travel with a refrigerated Probiotic, try taking it in a cool bag or box with an ice pack in it. This will just help to keep it cool for at least a few hours after it leaves the fridge.

So which is better: freeze dried or refrigerated liquid Probiotics?

Generally speaking, the more convenient option is freeze dried. They’re easier to store, last longer, and therefore are easier to travel with and use in the long run. So long as the bacteria used survive the drying process well, then it’s probably the best way to go. It’s for this reason that we use freeze dried bacteria at Better Guts, as both LGG and BB12 survive the drying process extremely well! That being said, don’t write the liquid ones off just yet! It all comes down to the strain that is being used, and how well it survives the drying process.

Many liquid Probiotics contain some very beneficial microbes, and so can be very much worth your time. Taking the time to look at the specific strains a manufacturer uses, and how much evidence there is behind them, is a great first step. If it’s a clinically proven microbe, then maybe it’s worth the drop in convenience to be able to use it, especially if that specific bacteria has shown benefits that you want or need.

This goes for all Probiotics though. Making sure your Probiotic has clinically proven bacteria in it is very important to ensure that you’re getting a supplement that  can really help you! It’s for this reason that we chose LGG and BB12, two of the most clinically researched Probiotic bacteria in the world.

And remember, if you’re not sure about the best way to store your Probiotic, always check the manufacturer instructions. Generally for freeze dried Probiotics, a cool, dry place is always best. And for a refrigerated Probiotic, try to keep it in the fridge at all times, and if you have to transport it once the bottle has been opened, the use of a cool box or bag with an ice pack in it would not be the worst idea, just to keep it cool until you reach the next fridge!