The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that the food enzyme chymotrypsin, produced from a genetically modified Bacillus licheniformis strain, does not pose safety concerns when used in ten food manufacturing processes, including four newly proposed applications. In a scientific opinion adopted on 24 June 2026 and published on 13 July 2026, EFSA's Panel on Food Enzymes updated its previous assessment to cover additional uses in cheese production, baked goods, cereal-based products, and yeast processing. The revised dietary exposure to the enzyme's total organic solids (TOS) was calculated at up to 2.424 mg per kg of body weight per day for European populations, a level the panel deemed safe.
The opinion updates an earlier EFSA evaluation from April 2025, which had already cleared the enzyme for six processes. The applicant, Novozymes A/S, requested the extension on 16 October 2025, seeking authorisation under EU Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008. EFSA conducted a public consultation from 26 February to 19 March 2026, receiving no comments. The new uses include adding chymotrypsin to milk during cheese coagulation to enhance flavour, to flour for dough making in baked and cereal products to hydrolyse gluten proteins, and to yeast extracts to enrich savoury taste. The enzyme may remain active in cheese and baked goods depending on heat treatment, but is inactivated in most other processes.
The assessment follows EFSA's standard methodology and guidance documents. The panel concluded that, based on the revised exposure and previous safety data, the enzyme raises no health concerns under the intended conditions of use. The opinion will inform the European Commission's decision on whether to update the Union list of authorised food enzymes.