Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of Lactobacillus paracasei (DSM 16773) as a silage additive for all species

Lactobacillus paracasei is a technological additive intended to improve the ensiling process at a proposed doseof 1.0 × 108 CFU/kg fresh material. The bacterial species L. paracasei is considered by EFSA to be suitable forthe Qualified Presumption of Safety approach. As the identity of the strain has been clearly established and as noantibiotic resistance was detected, the use of the strain in the production of silage is considered safe for livestockspecies, consumers of products from animals fed the treated silage and for the environment. Evidence of a lackof irritancy was provided for one formulation of the additive. It is unlikely that considering the nature of thealternative food grade excipients, different results would be obtained for other formulations containing the samestrain of L. paracasei. However, due to the lack of information and its proteinaceous nature, the active agent hasthe potential to be a skin/respiratory sensitizer. Three studies with laboratory‐scale silos are described, eachlasting at least 90 days, made using samples of grass forage of differing water‐soluble carbohydrate content andrepresenting material easy to ensile, moderately difficult to ensile and difficult to ensile. In each case, replicatesilos containing treated forage were compared to identical silos containing the same untreated forage at 20 ºC. The additive consistently showed the potential to improve the production of silage from all forages by areduction of pH aiding preservation of dry matter.