Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of Lactobacillus plantarum (NCIMB 41028) and Lactobacillus plantarum (NCIMB 30148) as silage additives for all animal species

The two strains of Lactobacillus plantarum are each intended for use as technological additives to improve the ensiling process at a proposed dose of 1 x 109 CFU/kg fresh material. The bacterial species L. plantarum is considered by EFSA to be suitable for the QPS approach to safety assessment. As the identity of the strains have been established and no antibiotic resistance detected, the use of the strains in the production of silage is considered safe for livestock species, consumers of products from animals fed the treated silage and for the environment. Given the proteinaceous nature of the active agents and its high dusting potential, the additives should be considered to have the potential to be skin and respiratory sensitisers. Three studies with laboratory-scale silos are described, each lasting 90 days, involving both strains of L. plantarum used individually and made with tall fescue, red clover and lucerne with different water-soluble carbohydrate content, representing material easy to ensile, moderately difficult to ensile and difficult to ensile. In each case, replicate silos containing treated forage were compared to identical silos containing the same untreated forage. Both additives consistently showed the potential to improve the production of silage by increasing the preservation of dry matter and reducing the loss of protein.