Probiotics firm sues watchdog for defamation

Wallis Wang

The producer of PicoLabb probiotics has sued the Consumer Council for defamation and asked for compensation after the watchdog said its product contains disease-causing Enterococcus faecalis bacterium, which has led to a HK$4 million loss in business.

Picolabb's parent company, IPC Works Limited, said its product contains the TH10 strain of E faecalis, which is beneficial to people's health, adding that the council's "incorrect statements" have seriously damaged the company's reputation.

In a writ filed to the High Court last Friday, the Hong Kong-based company said the watchdog informed it in November last year that its product, Super Probiotics, was selected as one of the samples for comparison in a market survey on probiotics products.

The watchdog also told the company that the survey "did not involve inspection of or investigation into the quality or efficacy of samples of the probiotics products themselves, but focused on the food labeling of probiotic products in the market," it said.

The company said it then submitted information to the Consumer Council in December, including a process flow chart showing how Super Probiotics products have undergone three years of formulation as well as an analysis certificate.

However, the council published "defamatory statements" in January, saying Super Probiotics contains E faecalis, which was not recommended for use as a probiotic for humans by a joint working group of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization due to uncertainty about its safety.

The content was then republished by more than 130 news or media outlets, misleading the public to believe the company's products are harmful to their health, it said in the writ.

"Enterococcus faecalis is the species name representing a large group of at least 78 strains of bacteria," the company said, adding that Super Probiotics does not contain all of its strains but only E faecalis TH10.

Not all bacterial strains of E faecalis are recommended as unsafe for human consumption, it argued.

"The Enterococcus faecalis TH10, as opposed to Enterococcus faecalis as a general species, is a specific strain that has unique probiotic properties with a lot of beneficial effects for the human body as proven by many international research papers and medical journals," the company said.

It added that research has shown the TH10 strain can reduce the presence of Malassezia - a genus of fungi that causes skin conditions - and helps combat various bacterial infections while improving people's immune systems.

The company said it has been requesting the consumer watchdog to remove the defamatory statements since January. But they were never retracted, causing damages to the company's reputation and loss in revenue of over HK$4 million.

It requested an injunction forbidding the council from publishing the defamatory content as well as compensation.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com