The European Food Safety Authority’s Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (EFSA’s CONTAM Panel) recently published a guidance for animal feed business operators on the information required when submitting a request for approval of a feed detoxification process.

Under EU law, products intended for animal feed that contain levels of undesirable substances exceeding maximum levels cannot be placed on the market. However, EU law also allows for the use of acceptable detoxification processes on these products in order to comply with maximum levels to place the products on the market. After assessing a series of requests for detoxification processes that do not have sufficient information, the CONTAM Panel identified the need for guidance addressing the implementation of the criteria for the acceptance of detoxification processes applied to products intended for animal feed.

The guidance covers relevant EU law and identification of feed types and types of undesirable substances. Required data is outlined, which includes a description and characterization of the process (physical, chemical, or biological detoxification), and a demonstration of the process efficacy meeting specific scientific parameters. The data must also consider the long-term efficacy of the process, the safety of the chemical or biological agents used, the toxicity of products formed during the detoxification process, the characteristics and nature of the processed feed, and the disposal of waste.