{"topic_id":"EFSA_FEEDAP_bha_safety","category":"efsa","context":"---\ntopic_id: EFSA_FEEDAP_bha_safety\ncategory: efsa\ntitle: \"EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"EFSA FEEDAP scientific opinion, EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215 (DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5215)\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/efsa_l/PMC7009650.xml\nsource_type: journal_article\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-06\ntokens_estimated: 535\nverified: true\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 5\n  passed: 5\n  date: 2026-08-06\nsource_document: \"EFSA Journal 16(3):5215 — EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP)\"\n  title: \"EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215)\"\n  url: \"https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5215\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-06\"\n  ref: \"EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215\"\n  doc_type: \"EFSA scientific opinion (Europe PMC OA full-text XML)\"\n  needs_review: false\nauthority_tier: T1\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T1:eu-body\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-06\n---\n# EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety\n\nSource: EFSA FEEDAP scientific opinion, EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215 (DOI 10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5215), retrieved 2026-08-06 via Europe PMC OA full-text XML. Paraphrase of an EFSA opinion that the source XML tags CC-BY-ND; per project COPYRIGHT_POLICY only facts/numbers/proper-nouns are quoted verbatim, sentences rewritten.\n\n## Editorial context (read this before using the data point)\n\nThis is the **EFSA FEEDAP** jurisdiction on the antioxidant preservative **butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)**, another controversial pet-food additive. Like ethoxyquin, the Panel **excludes cats** from the safe level. Read with `EFSA_FEEDAP_ethoxyquin_safety` and the existing `efsa` antioxidant endpoints.\n\n## Key findings (paraphrase; numbers and proper nouns verbatim from source)\n\n- The FEEDAP Panel considers BHA safe up to **150 mg/kg complete feed** for all animal species **except cats**, for which a safe dose could not be established from the tolerance data.\n- BHA is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, rapidly metabolised, and excreted as such and as metabolites in urine and faeces; **no accumulation** of BHA or metabolites was observed in tissues.\n- The Panel concludes **no concern for consumer safety** would arise from BHA as a feed additive at the maximum **150 mg/kg feed**.\n- The additive should be considered a **skin and eye irritant and a potential skin sensitiser**; user exposure via inhalation is considered unlikely, so a risk is not expected.\n- Use at the maximum proposed concentration is unlikely to pose a risk to the environment; BHA is authorised as a food antioxidant at comparable use levels, so efficacy studies were not required.\n\n## Pet-food relevance\n\nBHA is a common pet-food antioxidant. The **cat exclusion** and the **skin/eye sensitiser** flag are the decision-relevant points for cat-food and handler-safety considerations.\n\n## Scope note / honest gap\n\nParaphrase of an EFSA opinion; full study statistics are not reproduced. Source XML licence tag was CC-BY-ND, so this topic quotes only data points verbatim and rewrites prose.\n","sources":["OFT3 — EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215) (retrieved 2026-08-06)"],"source":{"authority":"OFT3","title":"EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215)","url":"https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5215","retrieved":"2026-08-06","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"EFSA Journal 16(3):5215 — EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/efsa_l/PMC7009650.xml"},"source_document":"EFSA Journal 16(3):5215 — EFSA FEEDAP — butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) feed-additive safety: 150 mg/kg for most species, cats excluded (EFSA Journal 2018;16(3):5215)","source_file":"pdf-raw/efsa_l/PMC7009650.xml","trust":{"authority_tier":"T1","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":null,"display_grade":"C"},"tokens_estimated":360,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}