Share your thoughts: Proposed new livestock feed ingredient – Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated

Current status: Open

Opened on April 19, 2025 and closes on May 19, 2025.

About the consultation

We are seeking comments on the following proposed new single ingredient feed (SIF) description for Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated.

Background

The Feeds Regulations, 2024 require a proponent to submit a pre-market application for new feed ingredients or SIFs that have been modified such that they differ from an approved SIF, or SIFs that are for a new purpose. We evaluate the information in the application to establish that the SIF is safe, effective and labelled correctly.

Approved SIFs are listed and described in the Canadian Feed Ingredients Table (CFIT), which is incorporated by reference (IBR) into the Feeds Regulations, 2024. Our Incorporation by Reference Policy requires that a consultation be conducted before changes to IBR documents are made. Refer to Documents incorporated by reference under the Feeds Regulations, 2024 for additional information.

About the evaluation

Our Animal Feed Program (AFP) has completed a detailed evaluation of an application for the approval of Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated.

The evaluation considered information related to:

  • the safety of feeding this SIF to livestock with respect to animal health
  • the safety of foods derived from livestock that eat this SIF
  • the safety of workers/bystanders exposed to this SIF
  • environmental safety
  • the fit-for-purpose and efficacy of this SIF for the intended livestock species

The results of our evaluation of available scientific data support the safety and efficacy of Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated as a source of viable organisms for use as a component of gut modifier products for livestock species.

Proposed SIF description

We intend to add Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated under subclass 6.19.2 (Gut modifier ingredients – Viable microorganisms) of class 6 (Non-nutritive ingredients) in part 2 of the CFIT with the following description:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated

is the dried product composed of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its growth medium, which are dried in such a manner as to preserve the viability of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The culturing process of the microorganism shall be conducted in accordance with good manufacturing practices using a non-pathogenic strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which does not contain a novel trait. A microbial strain unique identifier shall be indicated on the label. It shall not contain other extraneous materials except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably during good manufacturing practices. The growth medium shall not be fortified with levels of minerals and vitamins above those required for optimal growth of the yeast cells.

It shall be labelled with the following statement:

"This ingredient is approved as a source of viable organisms for use as a component of gut modifier products for livestock species."

It shall be labelled with a guarantee for the minimum number of colony forming units per gram.

An ingredient number will be assigned at the time this SIF is added to the CFIT.

Additional information

Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated will be placed into part 2 of the CFIT because it is a viable microbial strain (a source of viable microorganisms) and each source must be approved and registered.

This new SIF description is the result of our projects to update viable microorganism descriptions and yeast descriptions. As we continue to work on updating how viable microorganisms are named and described in the CFIT, species-level identification of these microorganisms is important. We will request that registrants with registered sources of viable microorganisms and applicants who are submitting new applications for viable microorganisms include data to support a species-level identification and confirm the intended purpose when they submit an application for SIF approval or renewal. This will allow us to accurately name and describe the viable microorganisms approved for use in livestock feed in Canada.

Who is the focus of this consultation

Animal feed stakeholders, including:

  • suppliers of feed ingredients
  • commercial feed manufacturers
  • feed importers, distributors and retailers
  • industry associations
  • other government departments
  • international trading partners
  • veterinarians

All comments are welcome from industry, governments, the public, or other organizations or individuals.

How to participate

We are seeking feedback on the proposed description for Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated.

Stakeholders are encouraged to share comments if there are:

  • concerns about the accuracy of the SIF description
  • any scientific data that should be considered before the SIF is approved

Our evaluators will review scientific questions or information for consideration in the evaluation. They will also evaluate non-scientific input and explore appropriate ways of addressing it.

Comments can be sent by email to the AFP at cfia.afp-paa.acia@inspection.gc.ca. Please use "Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated" in the subject line of the email. We are asking for comments and feedback by May 19, 2025 30 days from the date of this posting.

Next steps

We will review all of the comments received. If no significant scientifically valid concerns are raised, we will finalize the approval of Saccharomyces cerevisiae culture dehydrated and issue the approval to the applicant. If significant concerns are raised, we will evaluate the additional information and may, subject to the commenters' consent, forward the comments to the applicant for their response. A what we heard report that summarizes the feedback received will be published.

This SIF will be added to the CFIT at the next update.

Related information

Contact us

Animal Feed Program (AFP)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Dr
Ottawa ON K1A 0Y9
Email: cfia.afp-paa.acia@inspection.gc.ca