Between April and September 2019, EFSA received notifications for a total of 53 different taxonomic units, including bacteria, fungi, yeasts and algae. The Authority published the results of its assessment which recommended the inclusion of 8 new microorganisms in the QPS list:
Of the 53 notifications, 23 biological agents already had QPS status, and thus required no further evaluation.
Another 16 were excluded from the QPS exercise. These comprised 7 filamentous fungi and 6 Escherichia coli, which are excluded from the QPS assessment since 2017; Sphingomonas paucimobilis and P. rubrum, which had already been evaluated and excluded as these taxonomic units are not considered valid species; and Schizochytrium sp., which is a genus and therefore cannot be evaluated as a taxonomic unit.
The 14 microorganisms remaining were being evaluated for QPS status for the first time. Six of them were not recommended for the QPS list due to lack of body of knowledge and/or safety concerns (C. stationis, R. aetherivorans, R. ruber, H. singularis, P. ananatis, K. ohmeri).
Finally, 8 organisms were recommended for inclusion in the QPS list (Z. rouxii, B. velezensis, L. parafarraginis, A. limacinum, P. thermoglucosidasius, C. necator, P. illinoisenis, T. chuii), subject to different safety or for production purposes only qualificantions.
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