A lactic acid bacterium discovered by Estonian scientists has passed muster with the European Food Safety Authority, paving the way for use throughout the EU.
Estonia is notable for the probiotic bacteria in yogurt, but this particular strain, Lactobacillus plantarum NCIMB 30236, is used in animal feed to ferment silage.
Discovered by the Bio-Competence Centre for Healthy Dairy Products (TAK), it is one of the first microorganisms in the EU to be granted European Commission permission and entered in the registered list of feed additives.
The director of TAK, Ene Tammsaare, credited scientists from the University of Life Sciences, University of Tartu and the Estonian Research Institute of Agriculture, and the company Starter ST, who had done years of work.
"To this point Estonia has imported silage preservatives but now we have a domestic one with high export potential," she said.
The product could be marketed by next spring, said the chairman of the board of Starter ST, Üllas Jaaska.
The bacterium was isolated on southern Estonian grasslands. The lactic acid produced keeps harmful bacterial growth in check.