Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum (DSMZ 16627) as a silage additive for all animal species

Lactobacillus plantarum is a technological additive intended to improve the ensiling process at a minimum proposed dose of 1.0 × 10 8 colony‐forming units (CFU)/kg fresh material. The bacterial species L. plantarum is considered by the European Food Safety Authority to be suitable for the qualified presumption of safety approach to safety assessment. As the identity of the strain has been clearly established and as no antibiotic resistance of concern was detected, the use of the strain in the production of silage is considered safe for livestock species, for consumers of products from animals fed the treated silage and for the environment. The additive should be regarded as a skin and eye irritant and a potential skin and respiratory sensitiser, and treated accordingly. A total of seven studies with laboratory‐scale silos were made using samples of forage of differing water‐soluble carbohydrate content. In each case, replicate silos containing treated forage were compared with identical silos containing the same but untreated forage. The results showed that the additive has the potential to improve the production of silage from easy, moderately difficult and difficult to ensile forage species by reducing the pH and increasing the preservation of dry matter. This was most consistently shown at application rates of 5 × 10 7 and 1 × 10 8 CFU/kg forage.