Scientific Opinion on the safety and efficacy of Lactobacillus pentosus (DSM 14025) as a silage additive for all animal species

Lactobacillus pentosus is a technological additive intended to improve the ensiling process at a proposed dose of 1.0 x 10⁸ CFU/kg fresh material. The bacterial strain L. pentosus is resistant to the antibiotics tetracycline, ampicillin and clindamycin, all antibiotics of human and veterinary importance. Although the applicant on the basis of a bioinformatic analysis could exclude the presence of many known resistance genes, the reason for the resistance shown to tetracycline, ampicillin and clindamycin was not established. In the absence of information on the genetic basis of these resistances, the extent of the risk of horizontal gene transfer to other bacteria in the food chain and in the environment cannot be established.