EFSA Finds Enzyme From Modified Strain Safe
A European Food Safety Authority panel concluded that a food enzyme produced with a genetically modified bacterial strain raises no safety concerns.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Nutrition
The European Food Safety Authority panel concluded that glucan endo-1,3-β-D-glucosidase, produced by Nagase (Europa) GmbH using the genetically modified Streptomyces violaceoruber strain pGlu, does not give rise to safety concerns. The enzyme is intended for use in two food manufacturing processes.
Why it matters
The assessment covers the enzyme's production organism, dietary exposure, toxicity and allergenicity, giving regulators and food manufacturers a documented basis for its use in European food processing. The findings bear on how genetically modified production strains are evaluated before their enzyme products reach consumers.
The safety conclusion rests on a 90-day rat oral toxicity study with a no observed adverse effect level of 953 mg TOS/kg bw per day, the highest dose tested, and a margin of exposure of at least 79,417 against estimated European dietary exposure of up to 0.012 mg TOS/kg bw per day. Allergic reactions cannot be fully excluded, although the panel judged the likelihood to be low.
The players
European Food Safety Authority
The EU agency responsible for scientific advice and risk assessment on food safety, whose panel produced this conclusion on the food enzyme.
Nagase (Europa) GmbH
The European subsidiary of the Japanese chemical company Nagase, which produces the food enzyme using the genetically modified strain.
The details
The enzyme is free from viable cells of the production organism and its DNA, and genotoxicity tests showed no safety concern. A homology search of its amino acid sequence against known allergens found no match.
Timeline
November 6, 2026: Article on the EU assessment published by a food news site.
Big Picture
This opinion applies the European Food Safety Authority's established food enzyme review to a product from a genetically modified production strain. It shows how EFSA evaluates the production organism, exposure and allergenicity together before authorising an enzyme for food use.
Food products that contain this enzyme may appear in European foods once manufacturers adopt it, so consumers with allergies may want to check ingredient labels. The opinion itself concerns safety and does not establish labeling requirements.
The takeaway
Regulators judge a food enzyme on its production organism, dietary exposure and allergen profile together, and a large margin of exposure supports a safety conclusion. Readers with food allergies should still review ingredient lists as new enzymes enter the food supply.
Further reading
Explore more in Nutrition for context on how food ingredients and additives are assessed.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Foodmate.
