09.01.09
Dr. S.K. Dash founded Eden Prairie, MN-based UAS Laboratories in 1979 when he decided the public could no longer afford to live without knowing the benefits of probiotic bacteria. But the story actually goes back much further, to the days when he served as head of FDA in South Dakota.
During Dr. Dash's tenure at FDA he monitored the research being conducted on L. acidophilus, which was being sold as a drug for pigs. He believed that if it was impressive enough to be studied as a drug for pigs, then it would most certainly have potential in the nutrition world. Eventually, Dr. Dash left his high-profile government job to work with researchers at the University of Nebraska and other universities.
It turns out L. acidophilus DDS-1, the company's flagship product, was more impressive than anyone thought. It does everything from making enzymes and vitamins, to making natural antibiotics. "The bacteria he discovered is one of the most powerful in the world, which is why he has such a huge following and people keep coming back," said Connie Falkenstein, RD, MD, MPH, director of marketing and education, UAS Labs. "In fact, much of what happened in probiotics was a result of the work done by Dr. Dash. He created standards for probiotics when there were none."
Speaking of quality, Dr. Dash was very disappointed to see that the products sold in the U.S. just a few decades ago did not have bacteria as guaranteed on the product label. "There was no such thing as quality control at that time," he said. "Because of this we decided that we needed to develop standards through my committee. During my chairmanship I created a standard for colony forming units (CFU), which would later be used for food, feed and health supplements."
As a probiotic pioneer, Dr. Dash's chief goal in the late 1970s was to ensure the establishment of quality standards, a move he believed would take the category beyond a modest $10 million in sales. These efforts, among others, have since catapulted the category to more than $10 billion in sales today.
But the story behind probiotics in the U.S. actually goes back more than 50 years. Through his research, Dr. Dash learned that in the 1950s a probiotic product had actually been licensed by the USDA as a drug for treatment of a disease called scour in pigs and calves caused by E. coli infection. Further research revealed that the probiotic supplement was 97% effective in combating E. coli infection in pigs, with a cure rate as effective as the standard antibiotic treatments used at the time. Unfortunately, this new treatment lost the battle to large pharmaceutical firms with millions of dollars in marketing, research and development behind antibiotics, which is why Dr. Dash says probiotics were lost to the country for quite some time.
Today the company's DDS-1 is sold all over the world. Most recently, it passed the rigorous approval standards of Health Canada. "It is very difficult to get approval in Canada because it is very much like a drug approval process. We believe that the quality, technology and research that we put into our probiotics are the reasons we got approved," Ms. Falkenstein said. "This should be meaningful to those in the U.S. because it shows that we've definitely done our homework and that consumers can feel good in every way about consuming these probiotics."
Working in the probiotic business can be difficult at times, especially when companies are bending the rules. Regardless of the missteps of others, however, Ms. Falkenstein says Dr. Dash usually takes the high road. "Dr. Dash has always been a supporter of the category and doesn't want to badmouth anyone," she commented. "His style has always been to tell people how to select good probiotics period."
Someday Dr. Dash hopes probiotics gain the widespread acceptance that vitamins have among the public. "Consumers take vitamins on a regular basis because they are reminded by big companies to consume these products. Unfortunately, 80-90% of consumers still don't know what probiotics are-they maintain a scant 10-20% market share," he said, adding, "The interesting thing is probiotics actually produce vitamins."
Dr. Dash went on to say that if probiotics were promoted by big drug companies like Merck or Wyeth they would be much more visible and understood.
Not only is UAS celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, but it also just received the "2009 Best of Eden Prairie Award" in the "Vitamins & Hemetinic Preparations" category from the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA). The company, along with Dr. Dash, was also recently featured in the June issue of Healthy Living. According to the company, the article on the history of probiotics in this country coincides nicely with the celebration of UAS Laboratory's 30th anniversary. -R.W.
UAS Laboratories
9953 Valley View Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Telephone: 800-422-3371; 952-935-1707
Fax: 952-935-1650
E-mail: marketing@uaslabs.com
Website: www.uaslabs.com
During Dr. Dash's tenure at FDA he monitored the research being conducted on L. acidophilus, which was being sold as a drug for pigs. He believed that if it was impressive enough to be studied as a drug for pigs, then it would most certainly have potential in the nutrition world. Eventually, Dr. Dash left his high-profile government job to work with researchers at the University of Nebraska and other universities.
It turns out L. acidophilus DDS-1, the company's flagship product, was more impressive than anyone thought. It does everything from making enzymes and vitamins, to making natural antibiotics. "The bacteria he discovered is one of the most powerful in the world, which is why he has such a huge following and people keep coming back," said Connie Falkenstein, RD, MD, MPH, director of marketing and education, UAS Labs. "In fact, much of what happened in probiotics was a result of the work done by Dr. Dash. He created standards for probiotics when there were none."
Speaking of quality, Dr. Dash was very disappointed to see that the products sold in the U.S. just a few decades ago did not have bacteria as guaranteed on the product label. "There was no such thing as quality control at that time," he said. "Because of this we decided that we needed to develop standards through my committee. During my chairmanship I created a standard for colony forming units (CFU), which would later be used for food, feed and health supplements."
As a probiotic pioneer, Dr. Dash's chief goal in the late 1970s was to ensure the establishment of quality standards, a move he believed would take the category beyond a modest $10 million in sales. These efforts, among others, have since catapulted the category to more than $10 billion in sales today.
But the story behind probiotics in the U.S. actually goes back more than 50 years. Through his research, Dr. Dash learned that in the 1950s a probiotic product had actually been licensed by the USDA as a drug for treatment of a disease called scour in pigs and calves caused by E. coli infection. Further research revealed that the probiotic supplement was 97% effective in combating E. coli infection in pigs, with a cure rate as effective as the standard antibiotic treatments used at the time. Unfortunately, this new treatment lost the battle to large pharmaceutical firms with millions of dollars in marketing, research and development behind antibiotics, which is why Dr. Dash says probiotics were lost to the country for quite some time.
Today the company's DDS-1 is sold all over the world. Most recently, it passed the rigorous approval standards of Health Canada. "It is very difficult to get approval in Canada because it is very much like a drug approval process. We believe that the quality, technology and research that we put into our probiotics are the reasons we got approved," Ms. Falkenstein said. "This should be meaningful to those in the U.S. because it shows that we've definitely done our homework and that consumers can feel good in every way about consuming these probiotics."
Working in the probiotic business can be difficult at times, especially when companies are bending the rules. Regardless of the missteps of others, however, Ms. Falkenstein says Dr. Dash usually takes the high road. "Dr. Dash has always been a supporter of the category and doesn't want to badmouth anyone," she commented. "His style has always been to tell people how to select good probiotics period."
Someday Dr. Dash hopes probiotics gain the widespread acceptance that vitamins have among the public. "Consumers take vitamins on a regular basis because they are reminded by big companies to consume these products. Unfortunately, 80-90% of consumers still don't know what probiotics are-they maintain a scant 10-20% market share," he said, adding, "The interesting thing is probiotics actually produce vitamins."
Dr. Dash went on to say that if probiotics were promoted by big drug companies like Merck or Wyeth they would be much more visible and understood.
Not only is UAS celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, but it also just received the "2009 Best of Eden Prairie Award" in the "Vitamins & Hemetinic Preparations" category from the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA). The company, along with Dr. Dash, was also recently featured in the June issue of Healthy Living. According to the company, the article on the history of probiotics in this country coincides nicely with the celebration of UAS Laboratory's 30th anniversary. -R.W.
UAS Laboratories
9953 Valley View Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Telephone: 800-422-3371; 952-935-1707
Fax: 952-935-1650
E-mail: marketing@uaslabs.com
Website: www.uaslabs.com
