Abstract
Abstract The Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) process was developed to provide a harmonised safety assessment approach to support EFSA Scientific Panels and Units. The QPS approach assesses the taxonomic identity, body of knowledge and safety of microorganisms intentionally added to the food and feed chain. Safety concerns identified for a Taxonomic Unit (TU) are, where possible, reflected by ‘qualifications’ that should be assessed at the strain level by EFSA's Scientific Panels. During the period covered by this Statement, no new information warranted changes to the status of previously recommended QPS TUs. Of the 99 microorganisms notified to EFSA between October 2025 and March 2026 (47 as feed additives, 32 as food enzymes or additives, 5 as novel foods and 15 as plant protection products), 85 were not evaluated. These latter included 22 filamentous fungi, 6 Escherichia coli and 2 streptomyces (all excluded from the QPS evaluation), and 55 already present on the QPS list. Of the remaining 14 notifications, corresponding to 11 TUs, 7 were already assessed in the previous QPS 3‐years cycle Bacillus thuringiensis, Ensifer adhaerens, Enterococcus lactis, Heyndrickxia faecalis, Hyphomicrobium denitrificans, Microbacterium foliorum and Papiliotrema terrestris and 4 TUs were assessed for the first time: Listeria innocua, Pseudomonas protegens, Lactococcus cremoris (new species, previously a subspecies, which was part of the QPS species Lactococcus lactis) and Companilactobacillus pabuli (new species ‘split’ of a previous QPS species Companilactobacillus farciminis). L. cremoris, H. faecalis and C. pabuli are recommended for the QPS list, E. adhaerens also but only for production purposes. B. thuringiensis, E. lactis, P. protegens and L. innocua are not recommended for the QPS list due to safety concerns. B. thuringiensis is excluded from further QPS assessment. M. foliorum, P. terrestris and H. denitrificans are not recommended for the QPS list due to the limited body of knowledge.