Details
- Publication date
- 21 April 2016 (Last updated on: 6 June 2016)
Description
Recommended Method
as of:
Enumeration in the feed additive:
- spread plate method on MRS agar (EN 15787)
Identification of the feed additive:
- Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE)
Executive Summary
In the current application authorisation is sought under Article 4(1) for Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025 under the category / functional group 1(k) "technological additives" / "silage additives", according to Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003. Authorisation is sought for the use of the feed additive for all animal species. According to the Applicant, the active substance in the feed additive consists in viable cells of the non-genetically modified strain Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025. The feed additive is to be marketed as a powder containing a minimum Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025 concentration of 8x1010 Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g. The feed additive is intended to be added to silage at a minimum dose of 5x107 CFU/kg fresh silage. For the identification of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025, the EURL recommends for official control Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), a recognised standard methodology for genetic identification. This methodology for microbial identification is currently being evaluated by the CEN Technical Committee 327 to become a European Standard. For the enumeration of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025, the Applicant submitted the ring-trial validated spread plate method EN 15787 which was already evaluated by EURL in the frame of previous Lactobacillus plantarum dossiers. Based on the performance characteristics available, the EURL recommends for official control this ring-trial validated EN 15787 method for the enumeration of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025 in the feed additive per se. The Applicant did not provide any data or experimental method for the determination of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025 in silage, since the unambiguous determination of the content of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29025 added to silage is not achievable by analysis. Therefore, the EURL cannot evaluate nor recommend any method for official control to determine Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 29024 in silage. Further testing or validation of the methods to be performed through the consortium of National Reference Laboratories as specified by Article 10 (Commission Regulation (EC) No 378/2005) is not considered necessary.