Microbial food cultures (MFC) plays an important role in food production, processing, or consumers’ health. With the deepening research on the strains used for fermentation and non-fermented food production, the microbial-related food is increasing rapidly. Whereas the safety of MFC used in food production has become the focus of attention of enterprises, consumers and government officials. In order to ensure the safety of microbial-related foods, especially those for infant and young children’s consumption, and to standardize the supervision of food produced with microorganisms, many countries have formulated guidelines and taken measures to manage the strains. The definition, classification, procedure of safety evaluation, application and approval management of MFC, mainly probiotics by international organizations and related countries were systematically reviewed.