Ingredient dictionary
Probiotic cultures on a food label: allergens, diets and other names
Probiotic cultures are a kind of microbial culture. Whether they carry an allergen depends on how they were made. Whether they are vegan depends on how they were made. Open Food Facts finds them in 320 products, most often in milk and yoghurt.
By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 3 sourcesHow we check
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Do probiotic cultures contain an allergen?
It depends on how they were made. Open Food Facts does not link probiotic cultures to an allergen, and Bravoora’s label checker does not read the name as one. The label must name any allergen they carry.
Are probiotic cultures vegan?
It depends on the make. Some kinds of probiotic cultures are made with an animal product and a label rarely says which, so a vegan profile gets Heads up. Whether they are vegetarian depends on the make too.
A pack can differ from the usual recipe: the app reads the label in your hand.
What other names do probiotic cultures have on a label?
On European labels they are “ferments probiotiques” in French, “probiotische Kulturen” in German and “cultivos probióticos” in Spanish. The other 3 languages are listed below.
- French
- ferments probiotiques, cultures probiotiques
- German
- probiotische Kulturen
- Spanish
- cultivos probióticos
- Italian
- coltura probiotica
- Hungarian
- probiotikus kultúrák, probiotikus kultúra
- Croatian
- probiotičke kulture
Which foods contain probiotic cultures?
Open Food Facts lists probiotic cultures in the ingredients of 320 products, most often milk and yoghurt, sweetened drinks and drinks with sweeteners. Most of them are sold in the United States, Argentina and Australia.
Products with it, by country of sale: United States 139 · Argentina 41 · Australia 28 · Colombia 27.
Counted on 13 October 2026 from the Open Food Facts product database, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where probiotic cultures turn up, not how much of the market they are.
What kind of ingredient are probiotic cultures?
Probiotic cultures are a kind of microbial culture.
Bravoora reads this ingredient for everyone you shop for: an allergy or intolerance, a vegan or vegetarian diet, a calorie or protein goal, and the labels on supplements and skincare too. Build a profile · For dietitians, doctors and trainers
Sources
An allergen is stated only when two of three checks agree: the Open Food Facts record, Bravoora’s label checker, and the ingredient’s own name or family (oat flour is oats, a cheese is milk). Every name where they disagree waits for a person to review it.
- Open Food Facts: Probiotic cultures
- Open Food Facts: ingredients taxonomy (names, family tree, allergen and vegan flags), ODbL
- Open Food Facts: product database, 4,535,553 products, read 13 October 2026, ODbL
Contains information from Open Food Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL). Read the licence · Download this dictionary’s data · How we check
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