Following a request from the Competent Authority of France, the Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and the nutritional value of a biomass produced by fermentation with Escherichia coli, a by-product of the production of lysine, as a feed material for salmonids, pigs, and ruminants.
The biomass PL73 (LM) is a dried, heat-inactivated bacterial biomass used as a feed material produced from an Escherichia coli K-12 strain, which was genetically modified to overproduce lysine. The recipient organism E. coli K-12S B-7 is considered to be safe. The traits introduced in the final modified strain E. coli FERM BP-10941 are mainly limited to the overproduction of lysine. No full-length antibiotic resistance genes or other sequences of concern remain in the modified strain.
In conclusion, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) did not identify risks for human and animal health or the environment from the biomass regarding the genetic modification of the strain, and found that PL73 (LM) is safe for salmonids up to a dietary concentration of 13%. The toxicological data indicate adverse effects of PL73 (LM) on blood coagulation and liver, which also occur in target species. As a consequence, the FEEDAP Panel is unable to conclude on the safety for the consumer of products derived from animals receiving feed containing PL73 (LM).
