LegalizeCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1400 of 16 July 2025 concerning the authorisation of peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. as feed additives for all animal species
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on additives for use in animal nutrition (1), and in particular Article 9(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 provides for the authorisation of additives for use in animal nutrition and for the grounds and procedures for granting such an authorisation. Article 10(2) of that Regulation provides for the re-evaluation of additives authorised pursuant to Council Directive 70/524/EEC (2).
(2) The substances peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. were authorised without a time limit in accordance with Directive 70/524/EEC as feed additives for all animal species. Those substances were subsequently entered in the Register of Feed Additives as existing products, in accordance with Article 10(1), point (b), of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003.
(3) In accordance with Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 in conjunction with Article 7 thereof, an application was submitted for the authorisation of peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. as feed additives for all animal species, requesting the additives to be classified in the additive category ‘sensory additives’ and in the functional group ‘flavouring compounds’. The application was accompanied by the particulars and documents required under Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003.
(4) The applicant requested the substances concerned to be authorised for use also in water for drinking. However, Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 does not allow the authorisation of ‘flavouring compounds’ for use in water for drinking. Therefore, the use of these additives in water for drinking should not be allowed.
(5) The European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) concluded in its opinions of 16 October 2024 (3), 20 November 2024 (4), 26 November 2024 (5), that peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L. is safe up to the maximum use level of 12 mg/kg complete feed for all animal species, and that clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. are safe at certain maximum concentrations further specified for each species. It also concluded that no concerns were identified from the use of peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L. for consumers up to the maximum use level and that it is not expected to pose a risk to the environment at the maximum proposed use level. The Authority further concluded that the use of clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. under the proposed conditions of use is safe for the consumers and the environment. The Authority concluded that peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. should be considered as irritants to skin and eyes, and as dermal and respiratory sensitisers. The Authority further concluded that since peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. are recognised to flavour food and their function in feed would be essentially the same as that in food, no further demonstration of efficacy is considered necessary. It also verified the report on the method of analysis of the feed additives in feed submitted by the Reference Laboratory set up by Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003.
(6) In view of the above, the Commission considers that peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L. satisfy the conditions provided for in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003. Accordingly, the use of those substances should be authorised as specified in the Annex to this Regulation. In addition, the Commission considers that appropriate protective measures should be taken to prevent adverse effects on the health of the users of the additives.
(7) The Commission considers that safety reasons do not require the setting of maximum levels for peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L.. In order to allow better control, the recommended maximum content should be indicated on the label of the feed additives. Where the recommended maximum content is exceeded, certain information should be indicated on the label of the premixtures concerned.
(8) Since safety reasons do not require the immediate application of the modifications to the conditions of authorisation of the substances concerned, it is appropriate to provide for a transitional period for interested parties to prepare themselves to meet the new requirements resulting from the authorisation.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Authorisation
The substances specified in the Annex, belonging to the additive category ‘sensory additives’ and to the functional group ‘flavouring compounds’, are authorised as additives in animal nutrition, subject to the conditions laid down in that Annex.
Article 2
Transitional measures
The feed additives peppermint essential oil from Mentha × piperita L., clary sage essential oil from Salvia sclarea L. and sage essential oil from Salvia officinalis L., as authorised pursuant to Directive 70/524/EEC and premixtures containing these additives, which are produced and labelled before 6 February 2026 in accordance with the rules applicable before 6 August 2025 may continue to be placed on the market and used until the stocks concerned are exhausted.
Compound feed and feed materials containing the feed additives referred to in paragraph 1, which are produced and labelled before 6 August 2026 in accordance with the rules applicable before 6 August 2025 may continue to be placed on the market and used until the stocks concerned are exhausted if they are intended for food-producing animals.
Compound feed and feed materials containing the feed additives referred to in paragraph 1, which are produced and labelled before 6 August 2027 in accordance with the rules applicable before 6 August 2025 may continue to be placed on the market and used until the stocks concerned are exhausted if they are intended for non-food producing animals.
Article 3
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 16 July 2025.
For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN
(1) OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 29, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2003/1831/oj.
(2) Council Directive 70/524/EEC of 23 November 1970 concerning additives in feedingstuffs (OJ L 270, 14.12.1970, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/1970/524/oj).
(3) EFSA Journal, 22(11), e9016. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9016.
(4) EFSA Journal, 23(1), e9076. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9076.
(5) EFSA Journal, 22(12), e9135.https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9135.
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