Methane feed additive given European approval

Picture: O'Gorman Photography

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed that the Bovaer feed additive reduces enteric methane emissions from dairy cows, and is safe for the animal and the consumer.

This progresses the product to the final stage of approval from the European Commission Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.

This is the first EFSA scientific assessment of a feed additive intended to reduce methane emissions from cattle.

Its manufacturers, Royal DSM, based in the Netherlands, say a quarter teaspoon of Bovaer per cow per day consistently reduces enteric methane emission by about 30% for dairy cows and by up to 90% for beef cows.

However, most of the trials which have shown Bovaer to be effective were total mixed ration trials, where feeds are provided to animals daily, and the additive can be mixed into the feed.

For animals that are mainly pasture-fed, for example in Ireland or New Zealand, different deliveries of methane-reducing additives are being investigated, for example, long-life (more than 100 days) intra-ruminal devices.

Ireland’s Climate Action Plan includes a commitment to test new feed additives under Irish conditions to establish the best available technologies that deliver on methane mitigation, animal welfare, and food safety.

In a CSIRO trial in Australia, there was an 18% reduction in methane emissions from grazing suckler beef calves, and a persistent effect in the short term and even after ceasing Bovaer (3 mg/kg of bodyweight) inclusion in their feed.

Dr Harry Clark, director of the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, told the recent Agricultural Science Association conference in Ireland that adapting additives like Bovaer for pasture farming is a tech problem that will get solved, using slow-release devices.

EFSA's Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed concluded that Bovaer is safe for dairy cows at the maximum recommended level and was of no concern for consumer safety and for the environment. 

However, the panel concluded that the active substance 3-NOP may be harmful if inhaled, and exposure through inhalation may represent an additional risk for the user.

Royal DSM said Bovaer is the most extensively studied and scientifically proven solution to the challenge of burped methane, to date. Upon feeding, It takes effect immediately.

It received full regulatory approvals in Brazil and Chile in early September, and DSM has signed a development agreement with JBS, one of the world’s largest food producers, based in Brazil.

DSM says it is on course to start Bovaer market development in Europe in the first half of 2022. It has available initial commercial product volumes for near term market development, and has begun engineering for a new large scale Bovaer production facility in Scotland.

During the recent COP26 conference, governments of more than 100 countries (including Ireland) pledged to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Reducing methane was emphasised as a crucial way to keep within the Paris Agreement target of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.

However, some countries with high methane emissions, such as China, India, Australia, and Russia, did not commit.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “The pledge recognises that countries have varying methane emission profiles and reduction potential."