Scientific Opinion on the abiotic risks for public and animal health of glycerine as co‐product from the biodiesel production from Category 1 animal by‐products (ABP) and vegetable oils

Abstract

Following a request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the abiotic risks for public and animal health of glycerine as co-product from the biodiesel production from Category 1 animal by-products (ABP) and vegetable oils. Crude glycerine is used as an energy-rich feed component in animal diets. Glycerine derived from biodiesel produced from vegetable oils may contain up to 0.5 % methanol and 1 % sodium, used as catalysts in the biodiesel production process. Inclusion rates of such produced glycerine at levels of up to 15 % in the diet of ruminants and up to 10 % in monogastric animals are well-tolerated and exerted no adverse effects on animal health. In contrast, these findings would need to be confirmed for crude glycerine derived from biodiesel production using feedstocks (input materials) other than vegetable oils, as the production process is slightly different. More importantly, no data are available on the levels of possible contaminants of crude glycerine derived from biodiesel production using recycled animal fats or animal by-products classified as category 1 materials due to chemical risk. Therefore, the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain recommends the collection of data on the presence of impurities and contaminants in crude glycerine from biodiesel production that is used as animal feed component. SUMMARYFollowing a request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the risks for public and animal health of glycerine as a coproduct from the biodiesel production from Category 1 animal by-products (ABP) and vegetable oils. The Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM Panel) noted that the increasing demand for alternative fuels for diesel engines has resulted in a significant increase in biodiesel production. Subsequently, diverse input materials (feedstocks) including recycled animal fats and ABP are used for this purpose. The main co-product of biodiesel production is crude glycerine that is used as an energy-rich feed component in animal diets. Previous assessments of crude glycerine from biodiesel production were confined to the evaluation of biodiesel produced from vegetable oils, intended for human consumption. Data show that inclusion rates of such produced glycerine up to a level of 15 % in the diet of ruminants and up to 10 % in the diet of monogastric animals had no adverse effects on animal health. These findings indicated also that the residual amounts of methanol (up to 0.5 % in the crude glycerine fraction) and sodium (up to 1 % in crude glycerine) used as catalysts in the biodiesel process exerted no adverse effects. These findings are in agreement with the known toxicological data for the individual compounds, but need to be confirmed for glycerine derived from biodiesel using other sources than vegetable oils as feedstock material, as in this case the production process can be different.The CONTAM Panel noted th...