What We Heard Report: Proposed new livestock feed ingredient – Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated
Introduction
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) led a 30-day consultation on a new single ingredient feed (SIF) description for Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated from June 9, 2023 to July 9, 2023. The purpose of the consultation was to seek comments and feedback on the proposed addition of Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated to the Canadian Feed Ingredients Table (CFIT) under Subclass 6.19.2 (Gut modifier ingredients - Viable microorganisms) and Subclass 6.20 (Forage additives) of Class 6 (Non-nutritive ingredients) in part 2 of the CFIT.
A summary of the comments received during this consultation period are available below.
Background
The Feeds Regulations require a proponent to submit a pre-market application for SIFs that are new, have been modified such that they differ from an approved SIF, or are for a new purpose. The CFIA evaluates the information in the application to establish that the SIF is safe, effective, and labelled correctly.
The CFIA completed a detailed evaluation of an application seeking approval for the use of Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated as a source of viable organisms for use as a component of gut modifier products for livestock species, and as a source of viable organisms for use as a component of forage additives to aid in the production of organic acids or to lower the pH of the ensiled plant materials. The CFIA recommended that this SIF be approved for 2 purposes and added to the 2 different subclasses in the CFIT.
The evaluation considered information related to:
- the safety of feeding this SIF to livestock with respect to animal health
- the safety of people who consume food derived from livestock that eat this SIF
- the safety of workers/bystanders exposed to this SIF
- environmental safety
- an evaluation of the fit-for-purpose and efficacy for this SIF, for the intended livestock species
Following the evaluation, the CFIA consulted on 2 new descriptions (1 for each intended purpose) for Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated.
What we heard
The CFIA received a total of 4 sets of comments and feedback from stakeholders during the 30-day consultation period. A comment from 1 respondent stated they did not have any concerns with the description for Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated. The CFIA appreciates the feedback received on this consultation, including comments in support of the SIF description.
Comment: 1 respondent commented on livestock feeds in general, saying they should be healthy for livestock. They also stated that food supplements should focus on animal welfare and not livestock production improvements.
CFIA response: approved SIFs can have a nutritional purpose (for example, source of energy, source of protein, etc.) or they can provide a non-nutritional/technical function (for example, flavouring agent, anticaking agent, antioxidant, preservative, forage additive, etc.). If the information provided to the CFIA in support of the intended livestock feed purpose(s), nutritional or non-nutritional, supports that the SIF is safe and efficacious, it may approved for use in livestock feed. This SIF has been evaluated and found to be safe and efficacious for its 2 intended purposes and its use in livestock feed in Canada.
Comment: a respondent did not have any objections to the actual description for this SIF, but asked for confirmation if Pediococcus culture dehydrated would remain as an approved SIF.
CFIA response: the CFIA confirms that Pediococcus culture dehydrated and other genus-specific viable microbials are still approved SIFs that will not be removed from the CFIT at this time. A consultation would be held before any changes are made to the CFIT to remove existing SIF descriptions.
Currently, the CFIA is working on a project to review and revise the viable microbial descriptions to properly categorize the intended purpose of these viable microbials and to address changes to the naming of viable microorganisms due to taxonomic changes of microbial strains.
A separate consultation will be conducted on any proposed changes to the viable microbial descriptions as a result of taxonomic changes and reclassifying based on species-specific naming as opposed to genus-specific naming. However, at this time the CFIA is not removing the genus-specific descriptions (for example, Pediococcus culture dehydrated) from the CFIT.
Comment: a respondent commented that this SIF should be approved for additional purposes (for example, to support feed digestibility and nutrient utilization) and not only as a component of gut modifier products and forage additives. This respondent included that there is literature available to support the use of viable microbials in livestock feed to enhance nutrient availability and feed digestion. They also suggested that since viable microbial strains are listed in part 2 of the Schedules IV and V and the CFIT, the CFIA should not limit the use of these SIFs in livestock feed as they can request more information at the time of registration.
CFIA response: the CFIA evaluates new and amended SIFs based on the information supplied by the applicant. If a stakeholder would like a SIF approved for an intended purpose other than what it has been approved for, or they would like to add another livestock species or change the maximum inclusion rates allowed for this SIF in livestock feed, they will need to submit an application to amend the SIF description. The application to be submitted must include data or information to support such amendments, including data to support any additional purpose (nutritional or non-nutritional). It would follow the normal SIF approval process, including consultation.
The comments and feedback received did not result in any significant changes to the SIF descriptions. However, 2 minor edits were made to both descriptions in which the term "microbial strain identification number" was replaced with "a microbial strain unique identifier"; and the term "fermentation process" was replaced with "culturing process of the microorganism". These changes were requested recently when revising and creating new descriptions for the viable microbials.
Final SIF description
Following the CFIA's evaluation and determination of the safety and efficacy of this SIF, and since no significant concerns were raised during consultation, the CFIA has approved the use of Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated with the following 2 descriptions:
Part 2
Class 6 – Non-nutritive ingredients
Subclass 6.19.2 – Gut modifier ingredients – viable microorganisms
Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated
is the dried product composed of homofermentative, organic acid-producing Pediococcus acidilactici and its growth medium, which are dried in such a manner as to preserve the viability of the Pediococcus acidilactici bacteria. The culturing process of the microorganism shall be conducted in accordance with good manufacturing practices using a non-pathogenic strain of Pediococcus acidilactici, which does not contain a novel trait. A microbial strain unique identifier shall be indicated on the label. It shall not contain other extraneous materials except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably during good manufacturing practices.
It shall be labelled with the following statement:
"This ingredient is approved as a source of viable organisms for use as a component of gut modifier products for livestock species."
It shall be labelled with a guarantee for the minimum number of colony forming units per gram.
Part 2
Class 6 – Non-nutritive ingredients
Subclass 6.20 – Forage additives
Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated
is the dried product composed of homofermentative, organic acid-producing Pediococcus acidilactici and its growth medium, which are dried in such a manner as to preserve the viability of the Pediococcus acidilactici bacteria. The culturing process of the microorganism shall be conducted in accordance with good manufacturing practices using a non-pathogenic strain of Pediococcus acidilactici, which does not contain a novel trait. A microbial strain unique identifier shall be indicated on the label. It shall not contain other extraneous materials except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably during good manufacturing practices.
It shall be labelled with the following statement:
"This ingredient is approved as a source of viable organisms for use as a component of forage additives to aid in the production of organic acids or to lower the pH of the ensiled plant materials."
It shall be labelled with a guarantee for the minimum number of colony forming units per gram.
These new descriptions have been added to the CFIT.
Next steps
The CFIA would like to thank everyone who participated in the consultation process for contributing their time and sharing their views.
We are committed to reviewing any new scientific information on the safety of any SIF. Anyone who becomes aware of new scientific information respecting the safety of Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated is encouraged to contact the CFIA.
This new SIF (with the 2 finalized descriptions above) has been added to the CFIT for inclusion with the publication of the proposed Feeds Regulations, 2024.
Related information
- Feeds Regulations
- Feeds Act
- Consultations on proposed regulatory and policy changes
- Share your thoughts: Proposed new livestock feed ingredient – Pediococcus acidilactici culture dehydrated - Canadian Food Inspection Agency (canada.ca)
- Notice to industry: Consultations on new or amended single ingredient feed descriptions
Contact us
Animal Feed Program (AFP)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9
Email: cfia.afp-paa.acia@inspection.gc.ca
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