TY - JOUR
T1 - Update of the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) recommended microbiological agents intentionally added to food or feed as notified to EFSA 21
T2 - Suitability of taxonomic units notified to EFSA until September 2024
AU - EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ)
AU - Allende, Ana
AU - Alvarez-Ordóñez, Avelino
AU - Bortolaia, Valeria
AU - Bover-Cid, Sara
AU - De Cesare, Alessandra
AU - Dohmen, Wietske
AU - Guillier, Laurent
AU - Jacxsens, Liesbeth
AU - Nauta, Maarten
AU - Mughini-Gras, Lapo
AU - Ottoson, Jakob
AU - Peixe, Luisa
AU - Perez-Rodriguez, Fernando
AU - Skandamis, Panagiotis
AU - Suffredini, Elisabetta
AU - Cocconcelli, Pier Sandro
AU - Fernández Escámez, Pablo Salvador
AU - Maradona, Miguel Prieto
AU - Querol, Amparo
AU - Sijtsma, Lolke
AU - Suarez, Juan Evaristo
AU - Sundh, Ingvar
AU - Botteon, Angela
AU - Fulvio, Barizzone
AU - Correia, Sandra
AU - Herman, Lieve
N1 - © 2025 European Food Safety Authority. EFSA Journal published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH on behalf of European Food Safety Authority.
PY - 2025/1
Y1 - 2025/1
N2 - The qualified presumption of safety (QPS) process was developed to provide a safety assessment approach for microorganisms intended for use in food or feed chains. In the period covered by this Statement, no new information was found that would change the status of previously recommended QPS taxonomic units (TUs). The TUs in the QPS list were updated based on a verification, against their respective authoritative databases, of the correctness of the names and completeness of synonyms. Of 54 microorganisms notified to EFSA between April and September 2024 (33 as feed additives, 17 as food enzymes or additives, 4 as novel foods), 50 were not evaluated because: 12 were filamentous fungi, 1 was
Enterococcus faecium and 8 were
Escherichia coli (all excluded from the QPS evaluation), and 29 were TUs that already have a QPS status. One notification (
Ensifer adhaerens) was already evaluated in a previous Panel Statement. Another notification (
Enterococcus lactis) was already evaluated in the previous 3-year QPS cycle and was reassessed within this document. Two TUs were notified for the first time and were assessed for a possible QPS status:
Serratia plymuthica and
Lacticaseibacillus huelsenbergensis.
Bacillus thuringiensis and
Bacillus nakamurai have been assessed for a possible QPS status in response to internal requests. The following was concluded on the five assessed TUs.
L. huelsenbergensis can be granted the QPS status based on its close relatedness to several other QPS
Lacticaseibacillus species.
E. lactis is not recommended for the QPS status due to insufficient information on safety.
S. plymuthica and
B. thuringiensis are not recommended for the QPS status due to safety concerns.
B. nakamurai cannot be recommended for the QPS list due to a lack of body of knowledge for its use in the food and feed chain.
AB - The qualified presumption of safety (QPS) process was developed to provide a safety assessment approach for microorganisms intended for use in food or feed chains. In the period covered by this Statement, no new information was found that would change the status of previously recommended QPS taxonomic units (TUs). The TUs in the QPS list were updated based on a verification, against their respective authoritative databases, of the correctness of the names and completeness of synonyms. Of 54 microorganisms notified to EFSA between April and September 2024 (33 as feed additives, 17 as food enzymes or additives, 4 as novel foods), 50 were not evaluated because: 12 were filamentous fungi, 1 was
Enterococcus faecium and 8 were
Escherichia coli (all excluded from the QPS evaluation), and 29 were TUs that already have a QPS status. One notification (
Ensifer adhaerens) was already evaluated in a previous Panel Statement. Another notification (
Enterococcus lactis) was already evaluated in the previous 3-year QPS cycle and was reassessed within this document. Two TUs were notified for the first time and were assessed for a possible QPS status:
Serratia plymuthica and
Lacticaseibacillus huelsenbergensis.
Bacillus thuringiensis and
Bacillus nakamurai have been assessed for a possible QPS status in response to internal requests. The following was concluded on the five assessed TUs.
L. huelsenbergensis can be granted the QPS status based on its close relatedness to several other QPS
Lacticaseibacillus species.
E. lactis is not recommended for the QPS status due to insufficient information on safety.
S. plymuthica and
B. thuringiensis are not recommended for the QPS status due to safety concerns.
B. nakamurai cannot be recommended for the QPS list due to a lack of body of knowledge for its use in the food and feed chain.
KW - Bacillus nakamurai
KW - Bacillus thuringiensis
KW - Enterococcus lactis
KW - Lacticaseibacillus huelsenbergensis
KW - QPS
KW - Serratia plymuthica
U2 - 10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9169
DO - 10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9169
M3 - Article
C2 - 39834754
SN - 1831-4732
VL - 23
JO - EFSA Journal
JF - EFSA Journal
IS - 1
M1 - e9169
ER -