BIOHAZ scientific opinion on the equivalence of an alternative heat treatment process of feathers and down

The European Commission requested EFSA to provide a scientific opinion on the equivalence between the heat treatment process of feathers and down with dry heat to a temperature of 100°C for 30 min and the treatment set up in Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011, in terms of inactivation of relevant pathogens. To be considered at least equivalent to the methods in the legislation, the alternative method should be able to reduce the concentration of <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> or <i>Salmonella</i> Senftenberg by at least 5 log₁₀ and the infectious titre of <i>Anelloviridae</i> and <i>Circoviridae</i> by at least 3 log₁₀. An extensive literature search (ELS) was conducted to identify studies in which the log₁₀ reduction or the D value of the indicators were determined after dry heating in matrices with low moisture/water activity. The ELS did not provide any study on the inactivation of <i>E. faecalis</i> by dry heating. For <i>S</i>. Senftenberg, there was no clear data demonstrating a 5 log₁₀ reduction. For <i>Anelloviridae</i> and <i>Circoviridae</i> there was limited evidence and only one study reported 1 log₁₀ reduction after 30 min at 120°C. Given the available data and sources of uncertainty, it is not possible to conclude on a 5 log₁₀ reduction of <i>E. faecalis</i> using the proposed method due to lack of evidence. Similarly, a comparable reduction of <i>S.</i> Senftenberg cannot be concluded due to conflicting evidence. For <i>Anelloviridae</i> and <i>Circoviridae,</i> it was not possible to conclude that a 3 log₁₀ reduction is achieved with the proposed method, as only one study on dry heat was retrieved, which did not demonstrate such a reduction. Therefore, based on data available to date, applying dry heat to feathers and down at 100°C for 30 min cannot be considered equivalent to the treatment specified in the Regulation, in terms of inactivation of relevant pathogens.