The LIT sheet in OpenFoodTox 3.0 contains 3185 literature references underpinning all dossiers in the dataset. Of these, 1141 (35.8%) are opinions issued by EFSA Panels directly relevant to pet food and feed additives.
This topic indexes the literature backbone for any comprehensive pet food safety assessment, broken down by EFSA Panel and topical emphasis.
EFSA Panel distribution across LIT (top 10)
| Panel | Records | Pet food relevance |
|---|---|---|
| EFSA (unaffiliated) | 725 | Mixed (general EFSA statements) |
| EFSA FEEDAP | 620 | DIRECT — Feed additives & feed use |
| EFSA CEF | 339 | Food contact materials (kibble coating relevance) |
| EFSA ANS | 236 | DIRECT — Additives and Nutrient Sources for food |
| EFSA NDA | 209 | Dietetic products / UL/tolerable intake |
| EFSA AFC | 181 | Additives (legacy) |
| EFSA CONTAM | 155 | Contaminants (incl. mycotoxins) |
| EFSA FAF | 72 | DIRECT — Food Additives and Flavourings |
| EFSA PPR | 69 | Plant protection products (pesticide residue) |
| DRUGS@FDA | 54 | US drug cross-references |
Direct pet/feed add relevance (FEEDAP + FAF + ANS + NDA): 1141 records = 35.8%.
Of those, 383 records mention pet/dog/cat in their title — and 175 mention vitamin or mineral explicitly.
Vitamin-Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL)
EFSA NDA Panel has produced UL opinions (tolerable maximum doses, mg/day for adults) that are foundational for pet food safety:
| Opinion | Year | Substance | Substance category |
|---|---|---|---|
| UL for preformed vitamin A | 2024 | Retinol/retinyl esters | Pet: known teratogen in cats at high dose |
| UL for vitamin B6 | 2023 | Pyridoxine | Pet: neurological toxicity at high dose |
| UL for selenium | 2023 | Selenium (organic + inorganic) | Pet: selenosis |
| UL for manganese | 2023 | Manganese (inorganic forms) | Pet: rarely needed; toxicity in companion animals |
| UL for iron | 2024 | Iron | Pet: iron overload in dogs |
Why UL matters for pet food: pets consume near-daily identical portions, so a single nutrient exceeding the UL is more consequential than for humans with varied diets. Vitamin A UL for cats is uniquely low (~6 mg/kg body weight/day) because cats lack the enzymatic pathway to clear retinol efficiently.
Vitamin D2 mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) — Novel Food
Cross-reference with our earlier Vitamin D anomaly finding: 3 dossiers on Vitamin D2 from *Agaricus bisporus* (mushroom) under EU Reg 2015/2283 Article 10 (novel food). OFT3.0 LIT contains:
- 2021 NDA: "Safety of Vitamin D2 mushroom powder
(Agaricus bisporus) as a Novel food pursuant to Reg (EU) 2015/2283"
- 2022 NDA: Re-evaluation
- 2024 NDA: Re-confirmation
LIT confirms Novel Food status — the dossier-level finding of 3 Vitamin D2 dossiers in Reg 2015/2283 is anchored by 3 NDA opinions citing the same regulation. This is exceptional cross-validation of the earlier anomaly correction.
FEEDAP feed additive approvals — complete vitamin roster
| Vitamin | EFSA FEEDAP opinions | Common form |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A (retinyl acetate) | multiple | retinyl acetate |
| Vitamin E (RRR-α-tocopheryl acetate) | 3+ | natural source |
| Vitamin E (all-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate) | 3+ | synthetic source |
| Vitamin E (TPGS, TPGS-1000 succinate) | 2025 | polyethylene glycol succinate (water-soluble E) |
| Vitamin K1 (phytomenadione) | 2021 | feed additive approval |
| Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | 2021 | produced by Ashbya gossypii |
| Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine HCl) | 2021 | synthetic |
| Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) | multiple | oily or powder |
| Vitamin D2 (mushroom, novel food) | 2021/2022 | Agaricus bisporus UV-exposed |
Why TPGS (tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate) matters for pet food: TPGS is water-miscible vitamin E — used in dry pet food formulations where fat-soluble tocopherol alone can't be uniformly distributed. The 2025 FAF opinion is foundational for its pet food use.
Mineral chelate family (FEEDAP 2021)
A coordinated batch of FEEDAP opinions in 2021 covers amino-acid chelates of trace minerals:
| Mineral | Chelate | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Cu | Cu chelate of hydroxy analogue of methionine | 2021 approved |
| Cu | Cu chelate of ethylenediamine | 2021 approved |
| Cu | Cu chelate of amino acids | 2021 approved |
| Zn | Zn chelate of amino acids | 2021 approved |
| Mn | Mn chelate of amino acids | 2021 approved |
| Fe | Fe chelate of ethylenediamine | 2021 approved |
These chelates are highly bioavailable forms used in premium dog/cat food to minimise total mineral inclusion while meeting nutrition claims. The 2021 cluster suggests a coordinated EFSA review cycle for these organic mineral sources.
Manganese, Copper, Zinc E-numbers (FEEDAP 2012-2013)
Foundational 2012-2013 re-evaluations of inorganic mineral feed additives under E-numbers E5 (Mn), E4 (Cu), E6 (Zn) — these are the permitted non-chelate source forms for all listed trace minerals in EU pet food.
Other pet/feed additives
- Astaxanthin (2014 FEEDAP, synthetic) — for
salmonid feed pigmentation; relevant for fish-based pet food
- Lactic acid (2022 FEEDAP, produced by *Weissella
cibaria*) — natural preservation
- Halofuginone hydrobromide (2020 FEEDAP) —
anticoccidial for poultry, not pets
- Biomin DC-P (2019 FEEDAP) — zootechnical, chickens
- Titanium dioxide (2021 FEEDAP) — feed colorant;
EU banned for human food in 2022, status ambiguous for pet food as of 2025
- Illite/montmorillonite/kaolinite natural mixture
(2016 FEEDAP) — pellet binder (also known as clay anticaking agents)
Pet food relevance summary
Direct pet relevance: 36% of OFT3.0 LIT supports pet food formulation, safety assessment, and feed additive registration work. Vitamins and minerals together account for ~175 records, providing solid regulatory science coverage for any pet food additive inclusion review.
For pet food manufacturers and EU regulatory staff, filtering LIT by FEEDAP/FAF/ANS/NDA panels + vitamin or mineral keywords is the canonical entry point to OpenFoodTox 3.0.
Gaps & follow-up
- Drugs@FDA (54 records) — cross-references
presumably link EFSA evaluations to US FDA toxicology data; should be examined for pet-food veterinary drug cross-pollination
- JECFA (34 records) — WHO/FAO joint expert
body on food additives; their ULs are global benchmarks
- WHO (3 records) and SCCS (3) — supplementary
precautionary bodies
- DOIs are present for most records — full-text
retrieval could feed direct quotation back into pet food safety reports
- 1918–1999 historical opinions represent
pre-EFSA-era regulatory documents preserved as foundational references
Source
toxicology/efsa/OFT3.0_export_repository.xlsx sheet LIT. Author panel classification by substring match on GeneralInfo.Author field (column 4); year from GeneralInfo.ReferenceYear (column 8). Title keyword match against vitamin/mineral/pet vocabularies.
Verified 2026-07-20.