EFSA: UV-treated milk OK
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on UV-treated milk as a novel food submitted pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 258/97, taking into account the comments and objections of a scientific nature raised by Member States.
The novel food is cow’s milk (whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed) to which a treatment with ultraviolet (UV) radiation is applied after pasteurisation in order to extend the shelf life of the milk. This treatment results in an increase in the vitamin D3 concentrations.
The panel said that it considers that the provided compositional data, the specifications and the data from batch testing do not give rise to safety concerns. The data provided on the production process are sufficient and do not give rise to safety concerns. The target group is the general population with the exclusion of infants (up to 1 year of age). The panel considers that it is unlikely that tolerable upper intake levels established by EFSA for children aged 1–10 years, adolescents and adults will be exceeded. The panel considers that the novel food is not nutritionally disadvantageous.
The data provided do not give rise to concerns with regard to the microbiological quality. The panel considers that the risk of allergic reactions to the novel food is not dissimilar to that associated with conventional milk.
The Panel concluded that the novel food, UV-treated milk, is safe under the intended conditions of use as specified by the applicant.
