Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674

In the current application an authorisation is sought under Article 4(1) for Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674 under the category / functional group 1(k) 'technological additives' / 'silage additives', according to Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003. The authorisation is sought for the use of the feed additive for all animal species.
According to the Applicant, the feed additive contains Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674 as an active substance at a minimum total amount of 1.0 x 10¹¹ Colony Forming Units (CFU) / g feed additive.
The feed additive is intended to be added to the forage, used for ensiling process at a recommended dosage of 1 x 10⁵ CFU / g fresh silage.
For the identification of Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674 at a strain level, the EURL recommends for official control Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) (CEN/TS 17697) or DNA sequencing methods.
For the enumeration of Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674 in the feed additive, the EURL recommends for official control the ring-trial validated CEN method (EN 15786).
As the unambiguous determination of Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674 added to silage is not achievable by analysis, the EURL cannot evaluate nor recommend the above-mentioned CEN method, or any other methods for official control to enumerate Pediococcus pentosaceus NCIMB 12674 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, as last amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/1761) is not considered necessary.