CONCLUDING REMARKS
At present, the micro-organisms intended for human use
are regulated in the EU only within the context of the Novel
Food Regulation (258/97 EEC). Otherwise, the regulatory
framework regarding the safety of human probiotics or,
indeed, even conventional food starter organisms, is
practically non-existent. In various countries, the food microorganisms
are variably classified either as additives or
processing aids or as ingredients. With the exception of
Denmark, there are no standard pre-market approval systems
for new strains and cultures. This practice, reflects the
general harmlessness of the established starter organisms,
and one can question whether there is, actually, any urgency
to regulate and introduce new safety measures in this area.
Only in the French AFFSA proposal, are there definite
toxicological tests suggested for strains intended for human
use. Even from that proposal, it is not immediately apparent
which kind of a strain is considered new or novel (would a
spontaneous phage resistant mutant of a lactococcal strain be
considered novel, if used as a starter?). To date, no probiotics
or starters have been assessed as novel foods in the EU, and
so there are no precedent cases.
The human situation contrasts sharply with the well
developed EU approval system for animal probiotics, where
the latest SCAN guidelines and opinions have considerably
increased the testing requirements in comparison with the
situation just 10 years ago. Particularly, the newly introduced
requirements for assessment of antibiotic resistance in
microbial feed additives and the new guidelines introducing
genotoxicity tests and oral toxicity tests as a normal routine
for each new strain regardless its previous history of use,
have created a new regulatory situation within the EU. It
should be noted that these safety measures were not introduced
because of any observed or indicated actual harmful
effects on the target animals or consumers, but rather as
examples of the precautionary principle.
It is too early to say what the final impact of these
measures will be on the animal or consumer safety, or on the
industrial product development. Regarding antibiotic resistance
assessment, one obvious drawback is the arbitrary
nature of the MIC thresholds (particularly for lactobacilli) as
defined by SCAN. Lactobacilli are a very heterogenous
group of bacteria, and the intrinsic resistances are probably
widely variable among the different subgroups within the
genus. This has, indeed, already been pointed out by certain
authors as a direct response to SCAN recommendations [27].
No experience of the practical feasibility of the genotoxicity
testing or 90-day oral toxicity testing of microbial feed
additives has, so far, been gained.
Food safety is naturally of utmost importance. There is
no question that microbial products intended for human (or
animal use) should be safe. However, as pointed out in
section 2 above, with the exception of enterococci, lactic
acid bacteria (and bifidobacteria) have an excellent safety
record. It can be questioned, whether extensive testing of
these bacteria would represent a justified use of limited
testing resources, at least if the intention is to use them as
normal food starters. The QPS-concept, when correctly
applied, would probably clarify the situation in this respect.
In the case of human probiotics, the safety requirements
could be more stringent, taking into account that people with
variable health status would probably use these products as
self-medication. Even here, however, a case by case
approach regarding the safety studies would probably be
more appropriate than a fixed testing regime. The regulatory
system should also learn from experience. At certain time
points, even novel strains should lose their novelty and
become subject to a more relaxed safety assessment (yoghurt
starters were a novelty in Western Europe a century ago). It
is to be hoped that the regulatory situation regarding both
safety and efficacy of probiotics, and functional foods in
general, will be both simplified and clarified within the EU
as the EFSA matures.