efsa News The work of FEEDAP

We have already reported several times on the Guidelines for submitting an application for authorisation of additives (Guidance documents) and their revision by the FEEDAP Panel (Kraftfutter/Feed Magazine 5-6, 2016; 9-10, 2016; 7-8, 2017; 1-2, 2018).

Evaluating the safety of humans (as consumers and processors), animals and the environment is the primary concern of the various panels of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

On 26 September 2017 the FEEDAP Panel adopted three new Guidances that are intended to assist applicants in preparing a dossier.

Flavouring substances (mainly as extracts) as an effective principle in applications for zootechnical feed additives are rare (so far) (<10).

A few months ago the FEEDAP Panel evaluated the safety and effectiveness of sodium-molybdenate as a trace element compound. The application had originally been made for all animal species and categories, but in the course of consultations in the responsible working group it was reduced to sheep.

If one believes individual stakeholders, a feed additive simply needs to be safe – for the target animal, for consumers, for users and for the environment. They say its usefulness, its efficacy, would then be proved in practice. If the additive was no use, it would disappear again by itself.

Casimir Funk (1884 – 1967) could not have imagined what resonance he would trigger when over a hundred years ago (1911) he introduced the melodious and vowel-rich word “vitamins” to denote various vital organic compounds.