In the absence of EU guidance on probiotic food supplements, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has developed its own guidance document to help food supplement producers and food businesses assess the safety of probiotics used in their products.

According to the guidance, the most commonly used probiotics in food supplements are lactic acid bacteria strains, bifidobacteria, Bacillus sporogenes, and Saccharomyces boulardii. Although the consumption of probiotics can carry some potential risks, reported adverse effects resulting from common probiotic food supplements are few. When adverse effects have been reported, they are usually in patients at an increased risk of infection.