The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has updated its playbook on assessing substances used to wipe out microbial contamination on foods of animal origin. Released on 21 January 2026, this guidance aims to balance food safety with antimicrobial resistance risks, and it’s bound to stir conversations among food industry players, national regulators, consumer safety advocates, and environmental groups.
This guidance document, born from EFSA’s scientific expertise, sets out what data must be submitted for the safety and efficacy assessment of chemical or biological agents—ranging from acids to bacteriophages—used in decontamination. The spotlight falls on how these treatments target pathogens, application methods, and treatment conditions.
EFSA’s 2026 guidance isn’t a new law but an updated framework to steer evaluations. It demands detailed evidence on four fronts: human safety of substances and their remnants in food, statistically significant efficacy in reducing pathogens, risks of microbes developing resistance or reduced susceptibility (including to therapeutic antimicrobials), and environmental impact of these substances.
Policy-wise, this directs the EU towards stricter oversight of decontaminants in animal-based foods, emphasizing antimicrobial resistance surveillance and environmental safety. It leans into tighter regulation despite not extending EU legislative powers beyond the guidance’s scope. The document strengthens transparency and data requirements, potentially increasing the administrative load for industry actors.
food producers and chemical/biological decontaminant suppliers face more rigorous evidence submission and possible operational cost increments. National food safety authorities may bear higher scrutiny and enforcement duties. Consumers could benefit from enhanced food safety assurances but may see slight price effects. Environmental groups gain from explicit environmental safety criteria integration.
This EFSA guidance opens a chapter in refining microbial decontamination standards but doesn’t close it: expect follow-up consultations, possible regulatory proposals from the European Commission, and reactions from member states and industry associations as the EU fine-tunes its approach to antimicrobial resistance and food safety.
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