Safety Assessment on the Safety and Efficacy of an Additive Consisting of <i>Bacillus Velezensis</i> ATCC PTA-6737 (PB6) Used as a Feed Additive for Use in Turkeys for Fattening, Turkeys Reared for Breeding and All Growing Poultry (RP1696)

An application was submitted to the Food Standards Agency in September 2022 from Kemin Europa N.V. (‘the applicant’), for the renewal and modification of an additive consisting of Bacillus velezensis ATCC PTA-6737 (PB6), under the category ‘zootechnical additives’ and functional group ‘gut flora stabiliser’. The additive is proposed to be used in turkeys for fattening, turkeys reared for breeding and all growing poultry, to modify the recommended dose for chickens for fattening from 1 x 10 7 CFU/kg to 1 x 10 8 CFU/kg and to authorise the use of the additive with halofuginone. To support the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) in evaluating the dossier, the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF) was asked to review the dossier and the supplementary information from the applicant. The FSA/FSS concluded, based on ACAF’s advice, that the additive was correctly identified and characterised, the additive is compatible with halofuginone, and the recommended minimum dose for chickens for fattening can be modified to 1 x 10 8 CFU/kg. ACAF concluded that the additive can be considered safe for the target species, the consumer and the environment. The additive should be considered a skin sensitiser and a respiratory sensitiser for the user/worker. ACAF concluded that the additive has the potential to be efficacious in turkeys for fattening turkeys and reared for breeding and can be extrapolated to all growing poultry. The views of ACAF have been taken into account in the safety assessment which represents the opinion of the FSA and FSS.