Ohly unveils X-Seed Shield to boost probiotic viability in freeze-drying
Key takeaways
- Ohly launches X-Seed Shield, a yeast-based ingredient designed to protect probiotic viability during freeze-drying.
- Ohly says the ingredient offers protection: limits ice crystal damage, provides antioxidant protection, and supplies nutrients that support cell recovery on reactivation.
- It is made from baker’s yeast with Ohly’s Precision Extraction technology and is positioned as a clean-label, low-dose addition to existing protectant systems.
Ohly has launched X-Seed Shield to improve the viability and stability of probiotics during freeze-drying processes. The yeast ingredient supplier will present the innovation at Food Ingredients (Fi) Europe 2026 (Nov 17–19) in Frankfurt, Germany.
X-Seed Shield can help manufacturers maximize yields, notes Ohly, since maintaining cell viability during freeze-drying in probiotic production is a common challenge. The company points out that traditional protectants such as sugars work by helping limit cell damage, but these are not always sufficient to prevent cell loss during freeze-drying or long-term degradation.
Made from yeast bionutrients, X-Seed Shield was developed to work with traditional protectant systems, adds Ohly.
Triple protection
According to Ohly, X-Seed Shield works by reducing damage to probiotic cells caused by ice crystals during the preservation process.
It can also support stability through antioxidant protection and cellular recovery during the reactivation phase by providing the required nutrients and RNA/DNA precursors for metabolic activity, the company adds.
Ohly claims that the combined protective actions result in higher cell counts, improved yield, and longer product stability throughout shelf life.
“The growing global demand for probiotic products is increasing the focus on manufacturing efficiency and product quality,” comments Claudia Stoecker, Ohly’s commercial director ofbBionutrients.
Stoecker says end-of-shelf-life cell counts are becoming a greater focus for probiotic manufacturers.“With end-of-shelf-life cell count becoming more of a focus, X-Seed Shield offers a natural solution that can help manufacturers better protect sensitive bacterial cultures throughout the preservation process while supporting viability, stability, and recovery when it matters most.”
Optimizing manufacturing
X-Seed Shield is made from primary-grown baker’s yeast and offers a clean-label, effective solution at a low dose that is easy to add to existing manufacturing processes, says Ohly. It adds that the ingredient does not affect the product’s color.
Additionally, X-Seed Shield is made with Ohly’s proprietary Precision Extraction technology, which purifies and isolates functional yeast-based ingredients and bionutrients.
With the launch, X-Seed Shield joins Ohly’s X-Seed portfolio, which the company designed to support production processes and help manufacturers achieve reproducible results at scale.
Yeast approvals and innovations
In yeast-related updates, Angel Yeast’s yeast protein line, Angeopro, secured global third-party certifications from Monash University’s Low FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) program in Australia and the US-based Clean Label Project.
In September, Lallemand Bio-Ingredients welcomed updates to Health Canada’s Natural Health Product Monographs, now recognizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s yeast) as a source of trans-resveratrol and yeast beta-glucan.
In the same month, industrial biotech firm Manus and the University of Texas, US, engineered yeast to disrupt its own cell walls at the end of fermentation — automatically releasing beneficial compounds used in supplements.
