MELROSE PARK, ILL. — Racconto, an international food company specializing exclusively in products from Italy, has launched a line of probiotic-enhanced pasta featuring GanedenBC30, a patented probiotic strain from Cleveland-based Ganeden Biotech, Inc. According to the companies, the all-natural Essentials Digestive Health pasta line from Racconto marks the first probiotic-enhanced pasta available to consumers.

The Essentials Digestive Health line is available in three individually sold pasta varieties, including penne rigate, rotini and rigatoni. All three varieties come in 12-oz packages and are enhanced with GanedenBC30. Additionally, the new pasta line is all-natural and a good source of fiber, with 2 grams of fiber per serving. The pastas will retail for $2.99 to $3.49 and will be sold at select grocery retailers nationwide.

"The new Digestive Health line is a great choice for consumers looking for delicious pasta options that also deliver healthy benefits," said Rod Bambach, vice-president of sales for Racconto. "The ability of GanedenBC30 to survive the heat of manufacturing and cooking made it the perfect choice to include in the Essentials Digestive Health line."

Andrew Lefkowitz, chief executive officer of Ganeden, said the shelf stable properties of GanedenBC30 make it a good fit for a range of products.

"Since pasta is widely consumed, this seemed like a great opportunity to expand the health benefits of probiotics," Mr. Lefkowitz said.